Song of the Beast: Curse of Strahd 5e Total Conversion
by Isada
Summary: The idea is simple (though I imagine this process will be less so, ahaha): use the mechanics and set-up of Curse of Strahd to tell an Over the Garden Wall type story. Creatures and encounters and all will basically just have different flavor and maybe ability alterations-that kind of thing. The biggest changes will be to the overlying story.
1. Chapter 1

Total Conversion: Curse of Strahd to **Song of the Beast** , an Over the Garden Wall-inspired 5e campaign

Foreword/disclaimer: This is a Total Conversion of Curse of Strahd 5e to an Over the Garden Wall inspired story and setting. And a long-term Work in Progress that I'll be adding to whenever I get the chance (like on a typhoon day like today).

If you've run Curse of Strahd 5e, whoohoo! You've already got a head start on running this (and I would be supremely grateful for any suggestion/advice on this conversion). If you've had any experience with modifying campaigns, knowledge of Over the Garden Wall, and/or interest in this, please feel free to contribute-I'll consider everything I can get.

The idea is simple (though I imagine this process will be less so, ahaha): use the mechanics and set-up of Curse of Strahd to tell an Over the Garden Wall type story. Creatures and encounters and all will basically just have different flavor and maybe ability alterations-that kind of thing. The biggest changes will be to the overlying story.

The process in general: I'll be starting in broad strokes and once I've got the whole skeleton down, go back and REALLY fill in the details with all the somewhat dark and whimsical magic of Over the Garden Wall.

Why Over the Garden Wall: If you're not familiar, Over the Garden Wall is a one-season mini-series that ran on Cartoon Network. It combines the whimsy and darkness of American folk storytelling with the powerful ambiance of eternal fall (a metaphor for the stagnation and decay of the world under the Beast's reign of terror) and some very tongue-in-cheek humor delivered as fact.  
With October and the Halloween season coming up, how could I resist attempting this?

Goal: If possible, to finish at least one iteration of the conversation by the end of August 2017. That way, if people want to run/play this, they could start with the onset of fall in September for max atmosphere. And, if they cut out all but the most essential, hopefully they could run it through September up to Halloween like a special seasonal one-shot.

Cheers, everybody if you've read this far: And if you've got some input, anything at all related to: Curse of Strahd, adventure modifications, Over the Garden Wall, anything I've posted in this thread, feel free to give me your input. Apologies for the mess. I'll try to work out a clean and spiffy version once I've got enough material to work with.

Introduction:

Under the gray sky of bleak storm clouds, pregnant with rain and murmuring in thunder without lightning, a lone figure stands silhouetted against a stone wall. The weathered yet rough stones stand only as high as his shoulder but form the barrier around the entire world of The Unknown. The Beast, as his denizens call him, stares with lidless eyes of bewitching light at his forest of Edelwood trees. A cool, crisp wind spins their fallen leaves about him, billowing his cloak as though inviting the leaves into his protection.

Lightning flashes as white splotches in the clouds overhead but cannot pierce their smothering cover. The Beast tilts his antlered head to the sky, revealing the twisted faces and holes that stretch across his wood-like body. The toothless, tongueless hole forming his mouth contorts into a smile.

The massive Edelwood trees tremble at the thunder's deepening rumble. The Beast shakes his head with a father's quiet laugh and sings his children back to sleep with an opera of the last travelers to join his forest. The next pilgrims have crossed into the Unknown, putting him into the mood to perform. The Beast adds a timbrous second voice to his opera from a face on the side of his side. With every gentle splash of lightning and chasing thunder, he adds another face, another voice, to his story.

 **Welcome, welcome, my trees, my children**

Running the Adventure  
Total Conversation: Curse of Strahd presented here as a 5e adventure is for a party of four to six adventurers to take them from level 1 to 10. I'm not planning to have as many undead in this as the Source Material, so having spare Divine Casters is no longer so much of a necessity.

This thread is meant for GMs and is not self-contained. You'll need access to the ORIGINAL CoS (for the maps), Player's Handbook, DM's Guide, and Monster Manual.

There will be flavor text meant to be copy-pasted or, more likely, paraphrased when PCs first come to a location or under a specific circumstance. Indoor or nighttime descriptions are written under the assumption that the pcs are using a light source.

Index

Chap 1: Intro  
Chap 2: The Unknown  
Chap 3: The Village of Adelaide  
Chap 4: The Elder Edelwood  
Chap 5: The Town of Tavern Town  
Chap 6: The Old Grist Mill  
Chap 7: Inn of Whispers  
Chap 8: Pottsfield  
Chap 9: Winter Road  
Chap 10: The Overgrown Manor  
Chap 12: The Mulch Fields, starts here  
Chap 13: Winter Place, starts here  
Chap 14: The Seed Garden, starts here  
Chap 15: The Landboat of Frogs  
Chap 16: Epilogue  
Chap 17: Appendix A: see Marks of Horror, below  
Chap 18: Appendix B: Black Turtle House  
Chap 19: Appendix C: Treasures  
Chap 20: Appendix D: NPCs and Monsters  
Chap 21: Appendix F: Handouts

*Appendix E does not appear in this total conversion because information about tarot is easily found online.

Story Overview

PCs from our world (any decade/time period but recommended from the present to get the most out of the humor element) find themselves in the Unknown, a mysterious realm surrounded by a relatively short but impassible stone wall and in the thrall of the Beast, a twisted fey sentience. Using a deck of tarokka cards (any deck of playing cards or tarot cards but something fall-inspired like The Medieval Cat tarot recommended), a fortune-teller named Ms. Evangeline sets them on a dark course taking them to many corners of the Unknown and culminating in a Beast hunt.

Ms. Evangeline's people are the Fungais, a tribe of Deep Gnomes that the Beast grew from the mulch of the Edelwood trees. They travel the Unknown in wooden wagons pulled by human-sized turkeys gathering anything they believe will enhance the mulch of the Fungai Fields.

The Unknown is a land of fey, anthropomorphic animals, and eccentrics. The wilderness hides many secrets, including the story of the Beast as well as those of the souls he has collected and devoured. Though in shambles, PCs who explore the wilderness will find these sites not so much abandoned as repurposed.

For the denizens of the Unknown, there is neither reprieve nor escape. Tavern Town stands forever on guard against the Beast and his servants, but it's not the sanctuary it purports to be. The village of Pottsfield lies near the edge of the Beast's domain, its pumpkin-headed residents under the...claw...of the CN cat Enoch.

Of all the settlements in the Unknown, the village of Adelaide is by far the most oppressed. Many shops are closed and draped with multicolored threads, home only to many watchful birds. The Beast desires to add the burgomaster's adopted daughter, Irene Kole, to his forest. The villagers neither protect nor harm her, lest they incur the Beast's wrath and whimsy. Few know that Irene bears an uncanny resemblance to the only soul to escape the Beast.

The village of Adelaide cowers in the shadow of the Elder Edelwood, the living tree the home and fortress of the Beast. The god tree of the forest sits atop a great spire of rock, its roots choking and crushing the stone with unchecked glee. Every night, thousands of sentient, formally-attired bats fly out of the Elder Edelwood to feed on the energy of those they trap and onto whom they force their conversation. None may walk safely at the night while the bats fly.

Once the Beast becomes aware of the adventurers, he and his spies watch them closely. When the time is right, he invites his guests to the Elder Edelwood. He aims to turn them into Edelwood trees themselves by stripping away their hope of escape. Those who despair fall into the Edelwood Slumber, a sleep from which one never wakes and slowly converts the being into the tree. The Beast's woodcutters harvest the black-sap leaking Edelwoods for oil to feed the Dark Lantern, which houses the Beast's soul and keeps him alive.

The PCs's best hope of defeating the Beast is to learn his secrets, for his body is immortal while the Dark Lantern burns. Guided by Ms. Evangeline's card reading, they must scour the Unknown for magical artifacts unearthed but lost by past travelers who turned to Edelwood trees before they could destroy the Dark Lantern.

Adventure Structure  
Much of the action is driven by the clash between the PCs's decisions and the Beast's goals, all caught in the strands of fate represented by a special card reading detailed in chapter 1, "Into the Unknown". Before you run the adventure, conduct the reading to determine the location of the key story items and one location to find the Beast.

Chapter 1 also outlines the Beast's goals and includes the adventure hook. Characters have the Haunted One background available to them, although see the Marks of Horror section on why it could be redundant. If the PCs are first level and need to get accustomed to the milestone award system, the mini-adventure "Black Turtle House" has been provided in appendix B.

Chapter 2, "Lands of the Unknown" provides an overview of the Beast's domain and includes special rules for it and its people, including the magical Fungais. Chapters 3-15 detail areas that correspond to places on the CoS ORIGINAL map of Barovia in chap 2.

The epilogue offers ways to end the adventure. Appendix C details special items of the campaign. Appendix D provides the stat blocks. If needed, consult the CoS ORIGINAL appendix E for tarokka cards. Appendix F contains handouts to show the PCs.

Character Levels  
The adventure is meant for characters level 1-10 and includes threats for those levels and beyond. The Beast can be an especially deadly challenge at these levels. It is assumed that the characters will gain levels, acquire allies, and magical objects to tip the scales in their favor. Characters who head directly to the Elder Edelwood without increasing their power will likely die.

You can award experience for defeat of foes, as milestone awards, or a mix of both. Given that much of the adventure involves social interaction and exploration rather than combat, it'll be easier to award exp via milestones. Examples of award moments:  
-Finding Artifacts  
-Defeating Villains  
-Accomplishing Story Goals

Be prepared for the fact that the adventure is exceedingly open-ended. The card reading in chap 1 and the adventurer's choices can lead them all over the map. Handy summary:  
AvgLvl Area Chapter  
1-3 Adelaide 3  
4 Tavern Town 5  
4 The Old Grist Mill 6  
5 Pottsfield 8  
5 The Mulch Fields 12  
6 The Schoolhouse 11  
6 The Seed Garden 14  
7 Inn of Whispers 7  
7 Landboat of Frogs 15  
8 The Winter Road 9  
8 The Overgrown Manor 10  
9 The Elder Edelwood 4  
9 Winter Place 13

Sometimes PCs may simply have to flee or hide when out of their depth. If combat feels too easy, end it as quickly as possible or increase the threat by raising enemy hp to max, adding monsters, traps, or both.

Marks of Horror: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Pseudo-Background Addition  
There's no scary like personal scary. Which is why I highly recommend having ALL the players create a Haunted One-like background addition to add to their standard backgrounds. That way, you can draw on what scares the PCs and make it personal for them (especially for random encounters). Here is a template for Haunted One as an additional background:

HAUNTED  
Everyone has made mistakes in their lives, but you've had the misfortune of entering the Unknown where these errors and regrets will come to life and haunt you.  
Skill (special): Investigation checks to recall past events you've experienced are made with advantage  
Language: Song of the Beast, you hear the voice of the Beast inside your mind (singing) and may attempt to converse back by singing at the DM's discretion  
Equipment: One trinket of special significance from the list below

Harrowing Event (pick one or create one):  
1\. Your actions (unintended or otherwise) led to the suffering/deaths of dozens of innocents.  
2\. You under close watch all your life and now feel their stares everywhere you go.  
3\. A ghost haunting your family for generations now haunts you. You don't know what it wants, and it won't leave you alone.  
4\. You once tried to contact an occult plane. You succeeded.  
5\. You lost a member of your family as you watched helplessly.  
6\. You were instructed by your superiors to perform a deed that brought harm to others and for whatever reason obeyed them.  
7\. You discovered that you were not adopted but kidnapped and raised by your kidnappers.  
8\. You learned a terrible secret about someone you trusted most.  
9\. You were possessed as a child and locked away until a long stretch of time without an outburst.  
10\. You did terrible things to avenge someone you love.

You can also pick from Personality Traits, Ideals, Bonds, and Flaws from the Haunted One background.

Trinket list:  
1\. A picture you drew as a child of your imaginary friend  
2\. A spinning top carved with four faces: happy, sad, angry, dead  
3\. The unopened letter to you from your dying family member/friend  
4\. A dream diary you've filled with your nightmares  
5\. A small mirror that blurs the face of its reflected image  
6\. A key to the family crypt  
7\. A porcelain doll's head whose eyes follow you  
7\. A bone carved into a whistle  
8\. A small, worn book of nursery rhymes  
9\. A vial of perfume whose scent only you can detect  
10\. A broken pendant (any depiction) that's always cold to the touch

Marks of Horror  
The Unknown: Mechanical Tricks  
Horror is born from fear of the unknown. It's not the monster but its shadow that breeds horror. The more we know about a monster, the less we fear it, so try to keep your monsters out of the light for as long as possible.  
Examples:  
-Until the PCs retrieve the All-Seeing Monocle, Insight and Social Skill checks made to interact with the denizens of the Unknown are made with disadvantage, blocked by the Beast's mists and fog of mind  
-Until the PCs retrieve the All-Seeing Monocle, all checks to gather information about monsters are made with disadvantage, blocked by the Beast's mists and fog of mind

Foreshadowing: Mechanical Tricks  
Foreshadowing is about finding clues to a horrible truth yet to be revealed.  
Examples:  
-Allow the PCs to dream of possible deaths/monsters while resting and remember their dreams  
-Allow some of the nearby denizens to embody the kind of damages a monster/encounter might cause

Fall: Mechanical Tricks  
The Unknown reflects and embodies everlasting fall, a symbol of the eternal decay but endless unrest of the Beast. Everywhere the PCs go, they should be reminded of this stagnation and how it may eventually affect them.  
Examples:  
-Describe things in terms of cycles, endless cycles, and repetitions-including having the eccentric denizens repeat themselves/their actions  
-Allow the PCs to experience deja vu on a somewhat larger scale by occasionally 'resetting' a town after they leave and re-enter or having them experience a non-combat encounter again (including when the Beast appears)

Light: Mechanical Tricks  
A tale forever dark will rapidly lose interest. Monsters and other terrors should be offset by kind and lovable creatures.  
Examples:  
-Animals of the Unknown may behave as the fey creatures that they are and act with atypical sentience and even friendliness, so feel free to allow the PCs to make animal friends/take pets  
-Make sure the PCs encounter the honest, friendly, and helpful NPCs

Personification: Mechanical Tricks  
Ascribing human characteristics to inanimate objects is one way to turn something ordinary into something eerie. Consider the objects as characters with their own auras and agendas.  
Examples:  
-Take it as though objects you describe want to be interacted with (beckoning with any alignment)  
-Allow the PCs to detect the compulsions of the objects from the Unknown, although they don't HAVE to follow through with them

Details: Mechanical Tricks  
It's easy to go too heavy or too light on details, so a good rule of thumb is to tell the PCs what's important (people, places, things) and what's interesting (what makes the people, places, things interesting). In a straight horror story, taking time to describe an object in detail draws attention to it and makes one suspicious. Fortunately, in this total conversation you can draw on both the darkness AND the whimsy of Over the Garden.  
Examples:  
-In a given encounter, pick one object or feature to describe in some detail. Don't forget to balance the horror with your own tongue-in-cheek take for both humor and extra interest  
-Keep passive Perception and other skills in mind when describing details, allowing PCs to notice things that fit their skills/interests/backgrounds (again, making it personal)  
-Keep track of the details and changes to the PCs and allow the NPCs to react to those, too

Humor: Mechanical Tricks  
Humorous situations will naturally occur (poor rolls, joking personalities, PCs's reactions), but you made need to induce a situation if the horror atmosphere and tension are wearing on your PCs.  
Examples:  
-The majority of denizens in the Unknown are eccentric, so let them be ridiculous and extravagant in their eccentricity (Lady loves cats? She's got nine and keeps three of them in her hair like it's the norm)  
-Really capitalize on those low rolls. No one, not even the Beast, should be immune from indignity. (1 on a Dex check? The Beast trips over his own cloak)

The Horror of Whimsy: Mechanical Tricks  
Yes, this is a conversion of Curse of Strahd AND a horror adventure, but a good bit of the thematic horror in Over the Garden Wall doesn't come from standard blood, guts, and monsters fare. It comes from exaggerations of the norm, pushing the familiar until it becomes a caricature, and thus 'creepy'. Not everything has to be outlandish, though, and the players may appreciate finding those 'normal' people/things.  
Examples:  
-Unusual/disproportionate reactions to mundane things, especially breaking into song  
-Cartoon physics (NPCs moving/contorting in somewhat impossible ways, surviving things that might not typically be possible, etc)


	2. Chapter 2

Chap 2: Into the Unknown

A mist carrying the faint fragrance of burning wood and oil billows over the low stone wall that surrounds the Unknown. The mist is a frequent occurrence throughout the realm and may follow the PCs in their travels. This chapter gives you the information you need to prepare for those travels, outline the history and goals of the Beast, walks through the tarokka card reading, and closes with the adventure hook.  
Into the Unknown song on YouTube.

The Beast  
Stats are in appendix D. Although the Beast can be encountered almost anywhere in the Unknown, he's always found in the location from the card reading unless he's been forced to retreat to the Elder Edelwood.

The Beast's History  
Before he became the monster, the Beast was an antlered fey named Edelwood. Edelwood was the caretaker of a great and magical forest, lush, green, and full of life. But Edelwood was alone in his kind. He did not mind, until his tree-like body grew stiff and slow in his old age and his feet began to sprout roots.  
Edelwood realized that he would die and leave his great forest without a caretaker. He had to find the next caretaker, but he would soon be unable to move and search. So he asked the denizens of the forest to create a lantern for him in which to house his soul, and they complied post haste.  
As per Edelwood's instructions, they carved out a hollow in the shape of a body into the wood of the massive tree he had become. They placed the lantern within the hollow. Inside the lantern, they placed the wood chips and black, oily sap from the cutting. Edelwood's soul entered the lantern as a burning flame, and the rough body cut from the wood rose up to take the lantern.  
Edelwood went at once in this new form to seek the next caretaker, but his bright soul burned too quickly within the lantern. The lantern would not stay lit without more wood and oil from the tree of his flesh. Edelwood stopped in his pursuit, for he could not continue without fodder for the fire.

The Beast's Goals  
Irene Kole: Irene Kole had the misfortune to be born with the face of the witch Tabitha, the only soul of the denizens trapped within the Unknown to have evaded the Beast. Now that she's reappeared in her new incarnation as the burgomaster's adopted daughter, the Beast seeks to make her one of his Edelwood trees.  
He has come to Irene twice, singing the hope out from her heart. He intends to put Irene under the Edelwood Slumber during their next meeting.  
Chap 3 gives details on Irene and where to find her in Adelaide.

Fred  
Though presently focused on driving Irene into despair, the Beast has been distracted by reports of a powerful fey who's appeared in the Unknown. The fey they call Fred. As the next possible caretaker for the Unknown, the Beast would like to meet this Fred and test him. Should the fey fail his trials, he will become yet another tree in the wood.

Search for a Successor  
When the PCs enter the Unknown, the Beast shifts his attention from Irene and the much more evasive Fred to his new guests. He wishes to determine if any of them could take the mantle of caretaker. Eventually, he decides that none are suitable, and proceeds to strip their hopes and hearts away so that the Edelwood Slumber may take them.  
The Beast pays close attention to those with the brightest spirits and focuses his attacks on them. He loses interest if they fall easily into fear and despair.

Roleplaying the Beast  
Appearance:

The Beast is always shown in silhouette. He appears to have a humanoid shape with a head and cloak-covered body as well as deer-like antlers. His eyes usually glow bright white, but they can also appear with red pupils and sclera colored yellow, light yellow, and light blue.

His body is made out of Edelwood, with twisted faces and holes of those he was devoured covering him entirety. His antlers resemble tree branches. His face has a mouth and a nose, but no ears. He has two arms with long-fingered hands.  
Personality:  
The Beast is a chaotic and manipulative being. He is solely motivated by his own self-preservation and is indifferent to the pain and suffering caused by his actions. The Beast is well spoken and speaks matter-of-factly, traits he uses to lull his victims into a false sense of security. To accomplish this he may also feign concern. He is a master of deception, knowing exactly what to say to get people under his power. He typically has an even temperament, but threatening the lantern or defying him for too long can cause him to lose some composure.  
The Beast has a tendency to sing. He has a song for chopping the Edelwood and another song directed to his intended victims (see Introduction).  
Chopping song reference on YouTube.  
If the Beast senses a lack of cohesion among the PCs, he preys on that weakness  
and tries to drive a wedge between the PCs offering to help one at the expense of another.  
If the Beast senses chaos in a PC, he will try to cultivate it and prompt them to ever more chaotic acts to isolate them from the party.

When the Beast Attacks  
The Beast travels as he pleases to any place in the Unknown and enjoys encountering and demoralizing both denizens and PCs. The PCs can and should meet him multiple times before the final encounter.  
The Beast will only terrorize the PCs in places of low-light and darkness as the light of the Dark Lantern is enough for him. The Beast and his minions never attack Irene.  
These encounters are meant as a test with an emphasis on demoralization and fear, testing the PCs. After a few rounds or as soon as the majority of the PCs are frightened/shaken/etc, the Beast and his creatures withdraw. If the PCs retreat, he will allow them to flee, likely singing them off.

Fortunes in the Cards

Before you run this adventure, draw cards from a deck to determine the following:  
-The Beast's location in the Elder Edelwood  
-The placement of three important treasures that can be used against the Beast: the All-Seeing Monocle, the Claw Hand Maw, and the Song of Edelwood  
-The identity of a powerful ally to aid in your fight against the Beast  
The card reading can change the adventure each time you play.

At some point during the adventure, the PCs will likely meet Ms. Evangeline, an old Fungai seer, who can perform the same reading for them. Beatrice can also perform the reading once she has her cards (they're hidden in her turkey wagon).  
Appendix E in the ORIGINAL CoS shows all the cards of the tarokka deck and summarizes their symbolic meanings.

If you don't have a tarot deck (Medieval Cat Tarot highly recommended), just use playing cards. Aces are 1s, 10s are master cards. Hearts = Glyphs, Spades = Swords, Diamonds = Coins, Clubs = Stars. Each jack, queen, king, and joker corresponds to a card in the CoS ORIGINAL high deck:  
King of hearts = Ghost  
Queen of hearts = Innocent  
Jack of hearts = Marionette  
King of spades = Darklord  
Queen of spades = Mists  
Jack of Spades = Executioner  
King of diamonds = Tempter  
Jack of diamonds = Beast  
King of clubs = Donjon  
Queen of clubs = Raven  
Jack of clubs = seer  
Joker 1 = Artifact  
Joker 2 = Horseman

When you perform the card reading, take out the high deck and keep them separate from the low deck. Draw three cards from the common deck and cards 4 and 5 from the high deck. See the ORIGINAL CoS for the reading diagram (p.11).

1\. The Song of the Edelwood  
Aloud: 'This card tells of old and secret words. So secret nobody knows what they say. Until you find them, of course.'  
This card determines the location of the Song of the Edelwood, described in appendix C. See Treasure Locations below.

2\. The All-Seeing Monocle  
Aloud: 'This card tells of a powerful force for protection from the mist and smoke of the Unknown. It does seem awfully small for all that, though.'  
This card determines the location of the All-Seeing Monocle, described in appendix C. See Treasure Locations below.

3\. The Claw Hand Maw  
Aloud: 'This is a card of power and strength. It tells of a metal-toothed devourer.'  
This card determines the location of the Claw Hand Maw, described in appendix C. See Treasure Locations below.

4\. The Beast's Enemy  
Aloud: 'This card speaks of a kindred soul. Looks like someone else got themselves trapped in the Unknown.'  
Read the Aloud section from the appropriate card given below, see the Beast's Enemy section.

5\. The Beast  
Aloud: 'Your enemy is the enemy of all souls within the Unknown. Do you see this card? That's where he is.'  
Read the Aloud section from the appropriate card given below, see the Beast's Location in the Elder Edelwood section.

Treasure Locations

Swords (Spades)  
1\. Aloud: 'The treasure lies in an unquiet inn, held by one who is not themself.'  
The treasure is in the possession of Lorna in the Inn of Whispers (Chap 7, area Q36).  
2\. Aloud: 'I see those who once dug deep into the earth now in wooden slumber.'  
The treasure lies in the root of the Dark metal miners (Chap 4, area K85).  
3\. Aloud: 'Head to the mountains. Climb the tower of snow.'  
The treasure lies at the top of the Winter Road's winter watch (tower) (Chap 9, area T6).  
4\. Aloud: 'The thing you're looking for lies with those who sleep under wooden fingers, heavy and bulbous.'  
The treasure lies in the Budded Root of the Elder Edelwood (Chap 4, area K84).  
5\. Aloud: 'Look for a gathering of frogs in the hills above a mountain lake. The treasure belongs to their mother.'  
The treasure lies in the Stage of Mother Frog in the Landboat of Frogs (Chap 15, area Z7).  
6\. Aloud: 'Find the resting place of the Woodmason. Presumably somewhere with plenty of wood.'  
The treasure lies in the root of the Woodmason (Chap 4, area K84).  
7\. Aloud: 'I see the ruddy cheeks of one always blowing. He waits for you at the end of a mountain road.'  
The treasure is inside the head of the statue of the North Wind in the Winter Place (Chap 13, area X5a).  
8\. Aloud: 'I see an instrument that lends itself to the dramatic, some might say the overdramatic.'  
The treasure lies in the Elder Edelwood's organ room (Chap 4, area K25).  
9\. Aloud: 'There is a town of too many rooms and too few souls. Seek a room in wealth and darkness.'  
The treasure is hidden in the attic of Burgomaster Tavern in Tavern Town (Chap 5, area N3s).  
Master. Aloud: 'What you're looking for is the last place you wish to go, a hole cut for one being alone.'  
The treasures lies in the cut of the Beast (chap 4, area K86).

Stars (Clubs)  
1\. Aloud: 'Seek the highest of heights and try not to fall.'  
The treasure lies in the branch in the north (chap 4, K60).  
2\. Aloud: 'Look to the one who reads all. The treasure waits in her camp.'  
The treasure lies in Ms. Evangeline's encampment (chap 2, area G). If she performs the reading, she says, "Is that what that was? Ha, you're lucky I didn't barter it away for that new tarokka deck."  
3\. Aloud: 'I see a woman with a tower of hair. The master of the marsh speaks with her everyday, though she never replies.'  
The treasure lies with the portrait of Margueritte Grey in the Overgrown Manor (chap 10, area U5). "The master of the marsh" refers to Quincy Endicott (area U2), who's fallen in love with the portrait.  
4\. Aloud: 'I see a great but lonely house of rest. Turtles upon turtles have made for poor company.'  
The treasure lies in the bell tower of the Inn of Whispers (chap 7, area Q1).  
5\. Aloud: 'The treasure is hidden in the heart of a toy beneath the coldest mountain.'  
The treasure is inside a toy model of the Elder Edelwood in the Winter Place (Chap 13, area X20).  
6\. Aloud: 'Search for the root of the master of glass. Try not to break anything.'  
The treasure is hidden in the root of the Glassblower (Chap 4, area K84).  
7\. Aloud: 'A man is not what he sounds like. He comes from over the wall and now drives a turkey wagon.'  
The treasure lies in Fred's turkey wagon (Chap 5, area N5).  
8\. Aloud: 'A bewitching fey reads many books above a burning fire, but no one recognizes their face.'  
The treasure lies in the Beast's library (Chap 4, area K37).  
9\. Aloud: 'I see a water-logged village ruled by one who binds the Dark.'  
The treasure is in Granny Lee's walking hut of Dark metal (Chap 10, area U3).  
Master. Aloud: 'Seeking a towering place of learning. Too bad its students wouldn't call it that.'  
The treasure lies in the Schoolhouse attic (Chap 11, area V7).

Coins (Diamonds)  
1\. Aloud: 'I see the bed of one who draws oil from the black sap. It's a mess.'  
The treasure lies in the root of the Refiner (Chap 4, area K84).  
2\. Aloud: 'Look to a place where the vegetable eaters were once grown.'  
The treasure is in the nursery of the Pumpkin-Eaters (Chap 8, area S23).  
3\. Aloud: 'Look to the fields where lost things are gathered and some things, tested.'  
The treasure lies in the Mulch lab (Chap 12, area W10).  
4\. Aloud: 'Seek the pool once overflowing, now as empty as its caretaker.'  
The treasure hides in the Elder Edelwood's parched fountain (Chap 4, area K63).  
5\. Aloud: 'I see a place of clay pots and tin watering cans, all empty.'  
The treasure lies in the root of the Gardener (Chap 4, area K84).  
6\. Aloud: 'A wounded elf will bargain for his treasure. Don't worry, it's not your coin he's after.'  
The treasure lies in the Highwayman's ditch (Chap 5, area N9a).  
7\. Aloud: 'What you're looking for lies at the crossroads of life and death, but it can't rise up without your help.'  
The treasure is buried in the Eternal Garden Cemetary (Chap 2, area F).  
8\. Aloud: 'The Fungais have what you seek. They might trade you for a child.'  
The treasure is hidden in a Fungai turkey wagon (Chap 5, area N9i). The child is Arabelle (Chap 2, area L).  
9\. Aloud: 'Seek the passage of a bewitching fey who no longer walks this world.'  
The treasure is in the Elder Edelwood's memento room (Chap 4, area K41).  
Master. Aloud: 'I see a town in endless competition. At least one of their identical offerings must hold your prize.'  
The treasure is hidden in the attic of the Blue Tavern (Chap 5, area N2q).

Glyphs (Hearts)  
1\. Aloud: 'Look to the hall who's hosts have a taste for thick and pulpy flesh, ugh.'  
The treasure lies in the hall of the Pumpkin-Eaters (Chap 8, area S13).  
2\. Aloud: 'I see a garden watched by a face in sackcloth. Try this guardian.'  
The treasure is hidden inside one of the scarecrows in the garden bed of the Pumpkin-Eaters (Chap 8, area S9).  
3\. Aloud: 'Look to the west where the farmers dance the cattiest elder.'  
The treasure lies under the Pottsfield barnhouse (Chap 8, area S4).  
4\. Aloud: 'Find the sleeping mother of all Fungais. But don't wake her.'  
The treasure lies in the root of the Fungais's ancestors, the First Spores (Chap 4, area K88).  
5\. Aloud: 'On a hill grows a tree, on a tree grows a seed. No, many seeds. So many that the tree appears diseased.'  
The treasure lies at the base of the Tree of Seeds (Chap 14, area Y4).  
6\. Aloud: 'I see a place where a singer would sing if their audience didn't fall asleep.'  
The treasure lies in the opera chamber (Chap 4, Area K67).  
7\. Aloud: 'I see a lonely mill on a precipice. Churning, churning, churning. If only it were butter.'  
The treasure lies in the attic of the Old Grist Mill (Chap 6, area O4).  
8\. Aloud: 'Seek the heart of winter itself, but be warned-someone had reason to seal it away.'  
The treasure lies in the sealed workshop of the North Wind (Chap 13, area X40).  
9\. Aloud: 'Good spores, what's with all these taverns? Anywho, seek the richest.'  
The treasure is hidden in the master bedroom of the Watter Tavern (Chap 5, area N40).  
Master. Aloud: 'Unfortunately, it's in the Elder Edelwood. Seek the room of a cultist's dream.'  
The treasure lies in the Black Turtle room (Chap 4, area K15).

The Beast's Enemy and the Beast's Location

The Beast's Enemy  
Draw this fourth card from the high deck for the location of an NPC who can help you stand against the onslaught of the Beast. Some cards have multiple options, so pick the one better suited for your adventure.  
The Beast senses that the NPC is a threat to him and tries to eliminate them as quickly as possible. The NPC also gains the following additional action:  
Inspire-while within sight of Strahd, this character grants inspiration to one player in sight.  
These NPCs will be described later, but if the NPC is drawn during the reading, the behavior here takes precedence over the later details.

Joker 1  
Aloud: 'Look for a man who is...more than a man. Yet not quite one.'  
This card refers to the fey called Fred (see appendix D) who can be found at the Blue Tavern in Tavern Town (Chap 5, area N2). Normally reluctant to accompany the characters, he changes his tune if the characters see through his horse glamour.

Jack of Diamonds  
Aloud: 'Your ally holds a great and secret hatred for your enemy. Your ally is a frog.'  
This card refers to Frogfolk Julie (Chap 15, area Z7). She will accompany the characters if they promise to avenger her mate, Frogfolk Emil, by killing the leader of her army, Frogfolk George.

A, King of Diamonds  
Aloud: 'Your greatest ally will be a wizard who walks in the footsteps of animals.'  
This card refers to Mr. Elkman (Chap 2, area M).  
B, King of Diamonds  
Aloud: 'I see a woman of cloth whose faith hangs by a thread. She seeks to bury someone close but lost to her.'  
This card refers to Dona, the old priest in the village of Adelaide (Chap 3, area E5). She will not accompy the characters until her daughter, Anna, is buried.

King of Spades  
Aloud: 'Looks like no one wants to help you. Well, it's been nice knowing you.'  
No NPC can inspire the characters.

A, King of Clubs  
Aloud: 'Search for a wealthy young man with two names imprisoned within his own home.'  
This card refers to Jimmy Brown (Chap 5, area N3t). Realizing the PCs have saved him, he enthusiastically leaves home and accompanies them and hopes to one day be united with his beloved Miss Langtree.  
B, King of Clubs  
Aloud: 'Seek a girl whose body is locked in the heart of her dead father's house and whose mind is locked within the mist.'  
This card refers to Stellabel Watt (Chap 5, area N4n). She grants the party no benefit unless they release the mist's hold of her mind. Then she is happy to join the party and leave her family.

Jack of Clubs  
Aloud: 'Look for an elf in a ditch by the Fungais. He will help you if you can restore what was taken.'  
This card refers to the Highwayman (Chap 5, area N9a). The dusk elf accompanies the PCs only after they lead him to the Winter Place and fill his dead sister, Patty, with the breath of the North Wind.

A, King of Hearts  
Aloud: 'I see the caretaker of an empty inn. She has a taste for turtles.'  
This card refers to Auntie Whispers (Chap 7, area Q37). Although initially unwilling to accompany the characters, she will do so if the PCs get Lorna to help convince her to go. Lorna's help requires a DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check.  
B, King of Hearts  
Aloud: 'I see one with a headstart on his attack on the Beast. Well, he might if he weren't bumbling about the Elder Edelwood like that.'  
This card refers to Chophand Tom, the inept warrior (Chap 4, area K84).

Jack of Spades  
Aloud: 'Seek out the brother of the one whose hope is being taking by song. What a fine brother-he won't aid you until his sibling is safe.'  
This card refers to Isaiah Kole (Chap 3, area E2). Isaiah won't accompany the characters until he knows that his sister Irene is safe.

A, Joker 2  
Aloud: 'I see dead man guarded by his widow. And no wonder because his body's in great condition.'  
This card refers to Nicolas Watt the elder, who's dead (Chap 5, area N40). If a Raise Dead or Resurrection spell is cast on his preserved body, Nicolas agrees to help. Though his family historical supports the Beast, he came to realize toward the end of his life that the Unknown deserves a caretaker who doesn't plunge the realm into eternal fall.  
If the characters don't have the means to raise Nicolas, they can acquire a spell scroll of raise dead from Fred (appendix D).  
B, Joker 2  
Aloud: 'I see an occupational death-bringer, but beware-his soul is as stained as his hitlist.'  
This card refers to the Fungai assassin Igor (Chap 5, area N9c). If the characters mention the card reading to him, he accepts his fate and accompanies them. If the characters defeat the Beast but have made no effort to befriend Igor, he betrays and attacks them, believing he is the next caretaker. If they've befriended Igor, they can talk him out of it.

A, Queen of Hearts  
Aloud: 'I see a young man with a kind heart but a weak mind. In his simplicity, he's signed himself to contract of strangling terms.'  
This card refers to Perry Wimple (Chap 3, area E1). Only a good and noble cause will convince him to follow the PCs. Characters must somehow deal with his totalitarian dictator of an employer, Old Bill, who won't let the boy go for any reason.  
B, Queen of Hearts  
Aloud: 'You seek the one whose hope dwindles under song.'  
This card refers to Irene Kole (Chap 3, area E4). Her brother opposes her going with the players but she will insist if the PCs tell her of the card reading. She will first want to bury her father Andrew Kole and may sneak off at any time, never to return unless aided.

A, Jack of Hearts  
Aloud: 'What in the Unknown...? I see a man cast in metal but alive. Maybe. He's certainly wandering the Elder Edelwood.'  
This card refers to Ticktock (Chap 4, area K59, and appendix D).  
B, Jack of Hearts  
Aloud: 'I see a flesh eater with a taste for music, perhaps a vegan.'  
This card refers to Clover (Chap 8, area S17), a musician first and Pumpkin-Eater second. Clover serves the Pumpkin-Eaters not out of faith but fear. She wishes to leave but not until the PCs defeat Abby, head of the Pumpkin-Eaters.

Queen of Spades  
Aloud: 'A lone Fungai wanders without collecting mulch. She travels to Pottsfield, though why she'd pick that backwater travesty is anyone's guess.'  
This card refers to Beatrice (appendix D). She can be found in Pottsfield (Chap 8, area S19), as well as several other locations.

Queen of Clubs  
Aloud: 'Seek the eldest of the Fungai. He and his clan practice a peculiar magic that may be of use to you.'  
This card refers to the old Fungai Dave Mulchman (Chp 12). He's content to leave the Mulch Fields to his sons, Ryan and Elmo, but insists on reconciling with his daughter Winne before accompanying the PCs (Chap 5, area N2).

A, Queen of Diamonds  
Aloud: 'I see a Fungai child, but you must hurry, for her life is in danger. Go at once to the lake!'  
This card refers to Arabelle (Chap 2, area L). She gladly joins the party, but if she returns to her camp (Chap 5, area N9), her father, Mr. Lou, refuses to let her leave.  
B, Queen of Diamonds  
Aloud: 'What in the Unknown...? I see a woman cast in metal but alive. Maybe. She's certainly wandering about Pottsfield.'  
This card refers to Wanda Metalman (Chap 8, area S13).

The Beast's Location in the Elder Edelwood  
Drawn from the high deck, the fifth card determines the location of the final showdown. The first time the characters arrive at the foretold location, the Beast is there, provided he hasn't be driven to his cut.

Joker1  
Aloud: 'He haunts the memorabilia of a cult.'  
Go to the Black Turtle room (area K15).

Jack of Diamonds  
Aloud: 'He sits with his back to the door, pounding at keys.'  
Go to the organ room (area K25).

King of Diamonds, Queen of Hearts  
Aloud: 'He haunts those who aided him in the time of his greatest need.'  
Go to the root of the Dark metal miners (area K85).

King of Spades, Joker 2  
Aloud: 'He lurks in the deepest darkness, the one place to which he must return.'  
The Beast faces the PCs in his cut (area K86).

King of CLubs  
Aloud: 'He sings in a room in which he was meant to be heard.'  
Go to the opera chamber (area K67).

Jack of Clubs  
Aloud: 'He waits for you in a place of wisdom, warmth, and despiar. Great secrets are there.'  
Go to the library (area K37).

King of Hearts, Queen of Clubs  
Aloud: 'Look to the resting place of the Fungai ancestors.'  
Go to the root of the First Spores (area K88).

Jack of Spades  
Aloud: 'I see a dark figure on a balcony under the boughs of leaves born dead.'  
Go to the overlook (K6).

Jack of Hearts  
Aloud: 'Look to the highest of the heights. Look to the north.'  
Go to the branch in the north (K60).

Queen of Spades  
Aloud: 'The mists! The mists! Burning and smoking! The mists obscure all!' *coughing*  
The decision is left to the DM. Alternatively, Ms. Evangeline can draw the cards again after three days, but only for the location of the Beast.

Queen of Diamonds  
Aloud: 'I see a place of remembrance hidden by a bewitching fey.'  
Go to the memento room (K41) from the hidden door in the library (K37).

Adventure Hook  
In the event that begins the adventure, the fates of the Beast and the PCs are entwined. The following is a hook in the spirit of Over the Garden, but feel free to use any hook that will best fit your adventure. You can insert the PCs at any point for roleplay or simply explain what happened and drop them straight into the Unknown.

Summary  
Jason Funderberker, the richest man the PCs have the misfortune to know, has invited them to a fantasy-themed Halloween party. Perhaps they go for reasons related to him or perhaps they go because Sara, the internationally-acclaimed masked musician and circus performer, has RSVPed. Upon arrival, they discover that Funderberker has changed the party theme (to any you like) without telling them to ensure their internationally-paparazzied shame as a practical joke. They leave/are driven out by a laughing mass but are caught up in a mist at the edge of the Funderberker estate.

An Invitation to Party  
You and a few other fancifully dressed stragglers are the last and only ones to trudge the long and winding ascent of the Funderberker estate. You've had to park at the misted foot of its evergreen hill as sports cars far above your paygrade line every spare stretch of asphalt. Indeed, you and the others pratically walk in the middle of Jason's two-line driveway. Why a man with a two-lane driveway would invite a mere mortal such as yourself to a Halloween party attended by none other than Sara, internationally-acclaimed masked musician and circus performer, you may never know.

As you wind up the final ashpalt turn, the evergreen hill drapes out below you. The mist has risen like an ephemeral tide and ripples softly overtop the cars either poor or fashionably late. The Funderberker mansion looms before you, a replica of the President of America's own White House that some egotistical eccentric has set behind massive twin effigies of Jason's head set in marble. You pray Jason never gets it in his head to run for office, or if does, that democracy itself will rise up to stop him.

The twin doors of the mansion part beneath the Funderberker motto: 'You live but once.' A wall of flashing light momentarily blinds you. Your head spins from the cacophonous ringing in your ears. Laughter. And photography-no, paparazzigraphy. As your eyes and ears adapt to the onslaught, you see Funderberker himself standing at the center of the inhospitable semi-circle, one arm around the famous shoulders of Sara. Neither wear the costumes of a fantasy-themed Halloween party. In fact, everyone appears dressed for another theme entirely: (DM's choice).

You descend the driveway in your internally-distributed shame and humiliation and the mist rises up to greet your knees. The further you go from Funderberker, the deeper you wade. As the mist rolls softly over your mouth and nose, you breath the faint, smoky scent of burning wood and oil. Your steps submerge your head and now your entire body. You hear a faint voice singing in your ear. It strengthens as the fog thickens and chokes all light and space.

End Result  
The PCs come to a lonely dirt road (no longer with two clearly defined lanes in asphalt) that cuts through the woods, leading to area A (Chap 2). Alternatively, you can have them enter near Pottsfield (Chap 8).  
As you've probably guessed, their costumes become their class and race upon entering the Unknown. Their equipment becomes real as well.


	3. Chapter 3

Chap 3: Lands of the Unknown

The hardwood forest valley nestled in the Cloud Mountains was once an idyllic fey sanctuary. But its caretaker shattered both the Unknown's time and serenity when he abandoned his Edelwood body, rooted and entwined with the fate of the Unknown. The life and green of fresh spring fled from the trees, the hearts and minds from its denizens.  
Now the lands share his cursed state, forever dying but never dead. Every morning, new leaves sprout in orange, yellow, brown, and red. Every night, they fall in the night breezes, adding layers to the forest's thick, decaying carpet. The stone wall that once protected the sanctuary traps all within. Only the mist, the smoked and clouding breath that rises from the refineries at the Old Grist Mill and out from each Edelwood tree, can reach over the wall, flowing into other worlds.

Once inside the head, there the mist stays, luring and maddening its victims with its muted song of the Beast. When the Beast sings to them, the mists inside their own minds resonants with its despair-inducing power. Those beyond all hope hear the lullaby from the faces on the Beast's body of those who fell before them, the call to sleep, sleep, sleep the Edelwood Slumber.  
Song reference (Come Wayward Souls with imminent death addition) on YouTube.

Only the deep gnome Fungais do not suffer the vistations of the Beast. Though the mists may still wear any of the personas of weak minds down to cyclic caricatures, the Fungais perform the only caretaking the forest sees these days. Their gatherings for mulch keep the carpet of decay from swallowing up the Unknown. Indeed, the Beast grew the First Spores of the Fungais for this express purpose.

Among the other denizens, only a handful have the will to resist the mists and oppose the Beast. Most congregate in the valley's three main settlements-the villages of Adelaide and Pottsfield and the town of...Tavern Town. Many fear to the enter the forest where live the fey creatures who've been as changed by the mists themselves. A few of the most strongly willed denizens have pledged themselves to a secret society against the Beast, Feathered Friends.

Feathered Friends once tried to eliminate the Beast but succeeded only in finding a new name for themselves. Using many magicks, they created a clone of the witch Tabitha whom they believed to be the greatest enemy of their enemy. The eldritch admixture, however, left the clone defenseless to the mists. She defected to the Beast and cursed every member of the society that she could find with an avian form. She seeks Feathered Friends even now, driving them into even greater secrecy and hiding. Though scattered and broken, Feathered Friends will aid the PCs as stealthily as they can should the PCs explain their position.

Lay of the Land  
Rolling thunderclouds cast a gray pall from above matched by the rolling tides of the mists below. A stillness hangs over the Edelwood trees, a muffling and smoothering by their own uncountable fallen leaves. Fey beasts beholden to no law but their own, now-twisted natures stalk the wilds in search of food and game.

The fall-born Edelwood trees climb the mountains that enclose the valley but give way in jagged reaches to the evergreens of the mountain peaks. The highest peak is Mount Barking with its snow-covered cap and rugged slopes. Its slightly smaller twin, Mount Gawking, is mostly barren with erratic tufts of trees. Between these two mountains sits the placid Lake Froget fed by streams of ice-cold water from the winter banished to the mountains.  
South of the lake rests the town of...Tavern Town, enclosed by an Edelwood palisade. Those who place their ear against the timbers might hear the chopping song of the Beast. Atop a hill to the west of the mountains sits the commune of the Pumpkin-Eaters surrounded by the stone wall of the village Pottsfield. But unlike the wall that imprisons the Unknown, it provides only protection for the eyes from the atrocities on the other side. The Inn of Whispers lies between Tavern Town and Pottsfield, the location causing an inevitable lack of business. East of the mountains, the village of Adelaide dwindles in the mist and shadow of the Elder Edelwood. The castle-sized tree perches atop a 1,000-foot-high pillar of rock known as the Thronestone.  
Chopping song reference on YouTube.

Mists of Edelwood  
The burning and refining of the Edelwood trees produces a deadly fog that engulfs any being who attempts to leave that travesty of a fey sanctuary. The effects are as follows:  
-A creature that starts its turn in the fog must succeed on a DC 20 Constitution saving throw or gain one level of exhaustion (see appendix A in the Player's Handbook). The exhaustion can't be reoved while the creature is in the fog.  
-No matter how far a creature travels in the fog, or in which direction it goes, it gets turned around so that it eventually finds itself back in the Unknown.  
-The area within the fog is heavily obscured (see 'Vision and Light' in Chap 8 of the Player's Handbook).

Sunlight in the Unknown  
Due to the near-constant cloud and fog, the sun never fully shines in the Unknown. The denizens and those who enter over the wall have their senses altered by the mist so that they consider this daylight bright light.  
Once the players have the All-Seeing Monocle, however, which defeats the obscuring of the mist, you may choose to have the PCs treat daylight as dim light within range of the object's effect.

Alterations to Magic  
The wall's enchantment of sanctuary has been turned in on itself by the corruption of its caretaker, preventing any spell, even wish, to permit escape. Astral projection, teleport, plane shift, and similar spells cast for the purpose of leaving the Unknown all fail, defeated by the wall's magic. Neither can one banish a creature to another place of existence. These restrictions apply to magic items and artifacts that have properties that transport or banish creatures to other planes. Magic that allows transit to the Border Ethereal, such as the etherealness spell, is the exception to this rule, as the Unknown's Border Ethereal has also been entrapped by the wall.

For the purpose of spells whose effects change across or are blocked by planar boundaries, such as sending, the Unknown is considered its own plane. Magic that summons creatures or objects from other planes functions normally, as does magic that involves extradimensional space. Any spells cast within such an extradimensional space, like Mordenkainen's magnificent mansion, are subject to the same restrictions as magic cast in the Unknown.  
This is, however, left to your discretion and you may choose to block all summoning and sending if it is a better fit for your adventure.

Characters who receive spells from deities or otherworldly patrons continue to do so. In addition, spells that allow contact with beings from other planes function normally-with one proviso: the Beast can sense when someone casts such a spell and revels in making himself the recipient so that he becomes the one contacted.

Cosmetic Spell Modifications  
You may choose to modify spells cosmetically to enhance the atmosphere. Here are examples:  
Alarm-instead of a mental ping, the caster hears a scream from their past or the Beast's laughter  
Bigby's hand, mage hand-the conjured hand belongs to someone from their past  
Find familiar-the familiar is undead, not celestial nor fey nor fiend, and is immune to features that turn undead  
Find steed, phantom steed-the summoned steed is a giant turkey akin to those who pull the wagons  
Find the path-a ghostly vision of someone from their past guides the caster to the location but can't be harmed and doesn't speak  
Fog cloud-noiselessly singing faces made of holes form in the fog  
Gust of wind-the wind carries the scent of burning Edelwoods  
Rary's telepathic bond-characters linked by the spell can't shake the feeling that someone is eavesdropping  
Revivify-a creature restored to life screams upon regaining consciousness as though waking from some horrible nightmare  
Spirit guardians-are faceless, featureless, and flat as shadows  
Wall of stone-the wall appears identical to the stone wall that surrounds the Unknown

Resurrection Madness  
When a humanoid who has been dead for at least 24 hours returns to life, it gains a random form of indefinite madness (see Chap 8 of the DM's Guide) brought on by the realization that the souls of the dead are as trapped in the Unknown as the living. Unable to travel to the afterlife, any soul that hasn't been devoured by the Beast through the burning of is Edelwood stays trapped in the mists and must simply wait for a new body to inhabit.

Chap 2: Denizens of the Unknown  
Once the Beast realized that only the wood and oil of the Edelwood tree could keep his soul burning within the Dark Lantern, he ensured that he would never be at a loss for trees by continually drawing souls into the Unknown. As a result, the Denizens of the Unknown represent a limitless variety of ethnic and racial backgrounds.

The nightly menace of the enervating Business Bats, fey creatures twisted by the Beast's own hand, keep the denizens shrinking into their homes. Thus, the Beast always knows where to find his prey, or can at least rule out a great many locations. Few, however, are safe inside their minds.

In order to survive the numerous scourges of the Unknown, the minds of most denizens pare their personas down to caricatures which can be upheld with minimal effort. As a result the PCs will encounter eccentric and outright bizarre denizens who are, in fact, clinging desperately to what shreds of sanity and consciousness their minds haven't yet tossed. The fragility of their minds lends itself with frightening ease to mass and mob hysteria despite the individuals's often starkly distinct idiosyncracies. Those who stand apart from the crowd, though often unremarkable on the surface, mark themselves in this as having uncommon will and ally potential.  
The others eke out typically modest livings, though whatever curio is considered currency may vary between settlements. While their closed ecosystem forces each denizen to perform some labor or trade for survival, each has their own particular hobby, many of which would not be considered hobbies in less oppressed societies.

There are few children in the Unknown. When a child is born, the souls trapped in the mist fight furiously for control of the body, leaving the scars of their struggle on the mind. These children are born as eccentric as their parents and often meet their death before adulthood. The Beast himself prefers to target those with most vitality and creativity to become his Edelwood trees, so woe betide any child wandering outside what little civilization they have.  
Should a child survive to adulthood, they will grow to match the original appearance of their soul-either their own or that of one long dead. Only the soul of a person trapped in Edelwood can never reincarnate this way. They remain trapped until the Beast utterly consumes them.

If the Beast is defeated, winter rushes down upon the Unknown from the mountain tops. The great breaths of the North Wind shake every leaf from the Edelwood trees and chase the mist out over the wall in a final tide. Only then can the denizens leave the valley, though the state of their minds might prevent them from doing so even after such liberation.

Lore of the Unknown  
Most of the denizens share a common knowledge about their existence and surroundings. PCs can learn this information after first earning a denizen's notice and then their trust.

The Beast  
-The Beast has and is and always will be. He dwells in the Elder Edelwood where all may go if they wish to die.  
-The Elder Edelwood, god tree of the Unknown, cursed the valley because the ancestors of the denizens failed to pay tribute. The curse, however, can't be removed because the tree fell asleep while waiting, so there's no point in tribute these days, anyway. (All untrue, but such is the belief.)  
-The Beast created the Business Bats from the first servants of the god tree, the fey bats of the Unknown. He wanted an audience for his nightly operas who could also hold down a day job. (Whether this is true or not is left to the DM.)  
-The Beast can't enter a residence without an invitation from an occupant. (The Beast hates to be in the light because none will stay to listen to his song if they could see more than his silhouette.)  
-Running water burns the Beast like acid and sunlight causes him to burst into flame. (All untrue.)

The Land of the Unknown  
-Any who attempt to climb over the wall will choke on smoke and fog. Those who don't turn back perish.  
-The mist brings a yearly tide of strangers into the valley, most of whom die or replace the denizens who die that year.  
-The Beast's woodcutters stalk the forest while Business Bats fill the night skies like unwanted and lightless stars.  
-The village of Adelaide sits at the east end of the valley. Its burgomaster is Andrew Kole.  
-The town of Tavern Town lies in the heart of the valley. Its burgomaster is Baron Brown Dam.  
-The village of Pottsfield and its wall lies at the west end of the valley. Its burgomaster is Enoch, the small but powerful.  
-Mulch is the lifeblood of the Fungais. They literally pop out of the ground. Don't believe me? Try the Mulch Fields near Pottsfield.  
-There's a Schoolhouse in the foothills of Mount Barking, but no one's ever known any adult or child to attend.

Beliefs and Superstitions  
(To be taken with a grain of salt.)  
-The Elder Edelwood was the god of the Unknown before it cursed the land and went to sleep.  
-No one in living memory has seen the sun shine. That's why a spoonful of fish keeps the doctor at bay.  
-The Beast is the personification of the Elder Edelwood's curse while everything else is the physical manifestation of it. Even me.  
-The mist is both a mirror and a window to everything you've lost or left behind.  
-The woodcutters serve the Beast, so we're not on speaking terms. Though no one has ever heard them speak anyway.  
-Never harm a bird. Kill the bats, kill them all, but never a bird. Birds are just people with wings and without brains. That's why they have in houses in Adelaide.

Fungais  
The Fungais (singular: Fungai) are gatherers, collectors, and sometimes hoarders who travel the Unknown in wagons drawn by giant turkeys. All modern Fungais in the Unknown originate from the First Spores, Deep Gnomes of the Fungai tribe summoned from deep beneath the earth by the caretaker to provide the maintenance minimum while he searched for the next caretaker. The Edelwood trees have left their mark on the Fungais not through their mist but their mulch, which the Fungais require for spawning their next generation.

Each family of Fungais is its own little gerontocracy with the oldest member ruling the roost. This elder enforces traditions (which may vary greatly between families), settles disputes, sets the course for the next gathering, and preserves their way of life. These elders make all the important decisions, but true to their fey, gnomish nature, they have a penchant for nonsequiters and outright nonsense even in the face of death.

The Woodcutters  
The woodcutters also grew from the First Spores, but the Beast twisted their ancestor to his purpose and in doing so made them more shroom than Fungai. The woodcutters stalk the forest with single-minded purpose: cut the trees, refine the wood, serve the Beast. Unlike the Fungais, each woodcutter is identical, budded from the root of their mentally and physically contorted ancestor rather than grown in the mulch.  
The PCs may randomly encounter woodcutters in their travels, but most mill about the Old Grist Mill.

Fungai Lore  
Common Fungai lore is summarized here. PCs can learn this information after earning the trust of a Fungai. Woodcutters, however, are incapable of speaking.

The Beast  
-The Beast is an old and twisted fey who rose up when the Elder Edelwood, caretaker of the forest, fell asleep upon its Thronestone.  
-The Beast has consumed many souls through the Edelwood trees. No soul he has ever pursued has escaped him save that of the witch Tabitha. (The Fungais don't know what happened to her, only that the Beast raged for centuries afterward and that's probably still a touchy subject.)  
-The Beast invites all to the Elder Edelwood, the god of old in whom he lives and sings. He's always in want of an audience, though his songs are sure to put them to sleep.

The Land of the Unknown  
-When the god tree fell and the Beast rose in its place, his great and fey magic twisted all of the Unknown and its denizens. Business Bats and woodcutters are his servants and spies, but who knows what else has joined his service-willingly or not.  
-The denizens are simple but dangerous people. Few have the mind remaining to realize their own danger to themselves and others. Those who do are worth seeking, but may have just enough mind to refuse the suicide of opposing the Beast.  
-Three settlements lie on Worthwagon Road like beads on a string: Pottsfield to the west, Tavern Town at the heart, and Adelaide to the east. The Beast has loyal supporters in each settlement, though they may be unaware of it themselves.  
-Avoid the Old Grist Mill between Adelaide and Tavern Town-that is where the woodcutters are sure to roam. They are single-minded in their loyalty to the Beast.  
-Stray from Worthwagon Road and you may encounter Business Bats, woodcutters, and worse.

Beliefs and Superstitions  
-The mist of the burning, refining Edelwood trees traps even the souls of those who die in the Unknown.  
-Some Fungais are blessed with prescience, their eyes adapted to see through the mist. Of all these great fortune-tellers, none compares to Ms. Evangeline. She is the keeper of all future knowledge and possibility.  
-A prescient Fungai can't see their own future. When one turns the eyes inward, is there not only darkness?  
-All Fungais possess at least a hint of magic for their ancestors were Gnomes from the Deep. Be wary of invoking their wrath as they might invoke a curse just as powerful.  
-It's bad luck to kill a bird-they carry lost souls within them. Those returned to the mist may hold grudges that reach across the grave. (Whether this is true or not is left to the DM.)

Fungai Curses  
Along with the more standard Deep Gnome fare, the Fungais have developed the ability to turn their flavorful cussing into powerful curses. A Fungai can use an action to utter a curse that affects a creature they can see within 30 feet. The Fungai can't utter another curse until after a long rest.  
Woodcutters cannot perform these curses as they cannot speak.

The target must succeed on a Wis saving throw DC 8 + the Fungai's proficiency bonus + the Fungai's Cha modifier. The curse lasts until ended with a remove curse or greater restoration spell or the like. If a target dies and is returned to life, the curse remains.

The Fungai chooses the curse's effect from the following options but other curses are possible:  
-The target is unable to perform a specified act involving fine motor control, such as tying knots, playing an instrument, etc.  
-The target's appearance changes in a sinister yet purely cosmetic way such as gaining yellowed fangs or bad breath.  
-A nonmagical item in the target's possession (chosen by the DM) disappears and can't be found until the curse ends. The lost item can weigh no more than 1 lb.  
-The target gains vulnerability to a damage type of the Fungai's choice.  
-The target has disadvantage on ability checks and saving throws tied to one ability score of the Fungai's choice.  
-The target's attunement to one magic item (chosen by the DM) ends, and the target can't attune themselves to this item until the curse ends.  
-The target is blinded, deafened, or both.

Putrescing Eye  
As an action, a Fungai can target a creature within 10 feet of sight. This ability, called the Putrescing Eye by the Fungais, duplicates the effect of the animal friendship, charm person, or hold person spell (Fungai's choice), but requires neither somatic nor material components. The spell save DC is 8 + Fungai's proficiency bonus + Fungai's class level. If the target succeeds on the save, the Fungai is blinded until the end of the Fungai's next turn, their eyes having clouded over with the bubbling and fog-like putrescence.  
Woodcutters also have this ability.

A Fungai who uses Putrescing Eye can't use it again until after a short or long rest. Once a target succeds on a saving throw against the ability, it is immune to the Putrescing Eye of all Fungais for 24 hours.

Random Encounters  
Dangers abound in the Unknown. Check for a random encounter twice every 12 hours spent outdoors on the roads or in the wilderness.  
If the PCs are on a road, an encounter occurs on a roll of 16 or higher on a d20.  
If the PCs are in the wilderness, an encounter occurs on a roll of 13 or higher on a d20.  
If an encounter occurs, roll on the daytime or nighttime encounter table or have Spies of the Beast appear (see the Beast's Spies).

Daytime Random Encounters  
d12+d8 Encounter  
2 3d6 settlers (any race), commoner NPC class  
3 1d6 hunters or trappers (any race), scout NPC class  
4 Hunting trap  
5 Someone in Edelwood slumber  
6 False trail  
7 1d4 + 1 Fungais on turkey wagon (see stats below)  
8 Fog-addled centaur (see stats below)  
9 Trinket  
10 Hidden bundle  
11 1d4 swarms of birds  
12 1d6 dire dogs (any bred), dire wolf stats  
13 3d6 wild dogs (any bred), wolf stats  
14 1d4 berserkers (any race)  
15 Vision of a PC's past in the mist  
16 1d6 Frogfolk (see stats below)  
17 1 druid (any race) with 2d6 twig blights  
18 2d6 needle blights  
19 1d6 scarecrows  
20 1 mist-possessed (see stats below)

Nighttime Random Encounters  
d12+d8 Encounter  
2 1 mist-manifested vision (see stats below)  
3 Hunting trap  
4 Someone in Edelwood Slumber  
5 Trinket  
6 Vision of a PC's past in the mist  
7 Hidden bundle  
8 Fog-addled centaur  
9 1d8 swarms of Business Bats (see stats below)  
10 1d6 dire dogs  
11 3d6 dogs  
13 1 druid and 2d6 twig blights  
14 2d4 needle blights  
15 1d6 Frogfolk  
16 fog-touched fey (see stats below)  
17 1d6 scarecrows  
18 1d8 the Beast's fog-touched fey (see appendix D)  
19 1 will-o'-wisp  
20 1 mist-possessed

The Beast's Spies  
The Beast has many beings within his thrall and uses them to report on the activities in the Unknown. Every day and night that the PCs remain in the Unknown, one or more of these spies check on them and attempt to return to the Beast with a report. When a spy appears, characters who have a passive Wisdom (Perception) score equal to or greater than the spy's Dexterity (Stealth) check notice it.  
A spy doesn't constitute an encounter if the PCs are unaware of its presence. If they notice, the spy's goal is usually escape.  
A secondary goal might be to acquire some physical object-a possession, article of clothing, even a part of a PC's body-that the Beast can use to improving his scrying.  
If a spy is confronted, the spy attempts to grab some item of the PCs's before fleeing. If the Beast obtains such an item, he uses it to learn as much as he can about the party before planning his next attack.

Settlers  
Text: 'The sound of snapping twigs draws your attention to a mob in a fog. They carry torches and pitches. Who knows what's set them off this time.'  
If the characters are moving quietly and without light sources, they can try to hide from these settlers with pitchforks (+2 to hit) instead of clubs, dealing 3 (1d6) piercing damange on a hit.  
Settlers in a mob have the unfortunate tendency to blame the first conscious and moving being they see as the cause of their trouble (imagined or not). This includes any such creature from the time-appropriate Random Encounter table.

Hunters or trappers  
If at least one character has a passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 16 or higher: 'You see a figure camouflaged for forest terrain crouched low and perfectly still, aiming a crossbow in your direction.'  
If more than one hunter is present, the others are spread out over a 100-ft-sq area.  
These hunters or trappers are searching for game or a missing settler. Once they realize the PCs aren't out to kill them, they lower their weapons and request their aid. If the PCs decline, the hunters point them in the direction of the nearest settlement and urge them to hurry.  
They wield light crossbows (+4 to hit, range 80/320 ft) instead of longbows, dealing 6 (1d8+2) piercing damage on a hit.

Berserkers  
These are denizens driven to an unstoppable frenzy by the mist. Mud, leaves, and all sorts of detritus cover them from head to toe, making them difficult to see in forest terrain where they have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made to hide. PCs with passive Wis (Perception) scores higher than this Dex (Stealth) check can spot the nearest berserker.  
If someone spots one: 'What appears to be a whirling mass of upturned mulch is a mere (any race) on a wild but nonviolent rampage.'  
The berserkers shun civilized folk and withdraw if spotted, attacking only if trapped or threatened.

Vision of a PC's past in the mist  
Roll a d6 (or higher) to determine which PCs's past will appear in the mist. Roll again if the PC has no background on which to draw. It is left to the DM whether one, some, or all of the PCs see the vision.  
Text: 'A low mist rolls in over your ankles. You feel a chill as it rises back up in a great wave before you. You see (vision of a PC's past).'

Dire dogs  
Text: 'A snarling (breed of dog) the size of a grizzly bear steps out of the fog.'  
The area is lightly obscured by fog. If more than one dire wolf is present, the others aren't far behind and can be seen in silhouettes against the fog. The dire dogs of the Unknown are cruel, overgrown dogs that have been lost or abandoned by their owners long enough to be warped by the mist. They cannot be charmed or frihtened.

Dogs  
Text: 'The howls of many wild dogs fill the air. Of course they would hunt in packs.'  
Characters have a few minutes to steel themselves before the ravenous dogs attack. Embittered by their separation from their owner or their outright abandonment, these dogs cannot be charmed or frightened.

Druid and twig blights  
Text: 'A gaunt (any race) painted with black sap bounds toward you on all fours. It stops, sniffs the air, and laughs with piering discordance. The ground writhes with hundreds of jointed, twiggy spines.'  
The Druids of the Unknown once worshipped the Elder Edelwood but now worship the Beast. This has made them vulnerable to the fog, which has turned them into savage and violent shells of the beings they once were. If all the twig blights are destroyed or the druid loses half its hit points, the druid flees, heading toward the Seed Garden (area Y).

False trail  
Text: 'You discover recently trod ground that cuts a path into the wilderness.'  
Evil druids left this trail. Following it leads to a spiked pit (see Chap 5 in the DM's Guide). A thin tarp of twigs and mulch conceals the pit, the bottom of which is lined with sharpened wooden stakes.

Mist-manifested vision  
Roll a d6 (or higher) to determine which PCs's person from the past will appear in the mist. Roll again if the PC has no such person in their background.  
Text: 'The mist gathers into the shape of a humanoid being. Its hollow eyes stare at (the chosen PC).'  
Unlike a simple vision, the manifested may attack depending on its alignment. If it succeeds in possessing a character, it leads its host to the Edelwood Gate (area J) and hurls the host's body into the chasm.

Edelwood sleeper  
Text: 'You see a sleeping denizen whose face is crumpled by a ghastly grimace. Fall-foliaged Edelwood sprouts wrap around their body like vines. On closer inspection, you find the sleeper's body sprouting its own Edelwood buds.'  
Those in Edelwood Slumber won't wake for any reason. PCs may rob the transmuting body of a trinket with a DC 15 Dex check. A failed check results in a Grapple, DC 18 Str or Dex. Sundering the Edelwood results in immediate death for the sleeper, alignment penalties may apply.

Hidden bundle  
The PCs find a leather-wrapped bundle hidden in the underbrush, stuffed in a hollow log, or nestled in the boughs of a tree.  
If they open the bundle: 'The bundle contains (any small, common item 80%, or a small rare item 10% or a small, minor magic item 10%).'  
The idiosyncracy of a settler has led them to hide such an item. If the PCs keep the item in plain sight, there is a 20% chance that an NPC will recognize it.

Hunting trap  
Have PCs in the front make a DC 15 Wisdom (Survival) check.  
If one or more succeeds: 'You spot a trap for a wolf...perhaps a dog. Tts steel jaws are caked with rust. Someone has hidden it under a thin layer of twigs and mulch.'  
Hunters and trappers set these traps to thin the ranks of the roaming dogs that hunt the same game, but the mist has made the dogs too intelligent to fall for the trap.  
If no PC spots the trap, one random member steps on it (see Chap 5, Player's Handbook).

Needle blights  
Text: 'Hunched figures lurch through the mist, needles rustling from every inch of their spindly bodies.'  
Evergreens once ruled the forests of the Unknown, but the rise of the Beast chased them up the mountain peaks along with the winter of the North Wind. The mist twisted and animated those evergreens displaced by the Beast's Edelwood trees. Now the woods crawl with the embittered and ever-wandering needle blights.  
If the PCs are moving quietly and not carrying light sources, they can try to hide from the blights.

Mist-possessed  
Text: 'A figure walks alone with a jilting stride and glinting leer. Their gaping grin opens and closes, fog falling through the gate of teeth.'  
On the rare occasions that souls trapped in the mist do not fight each other for control of a body but join forces, their combined power allows them to enshroud the body of any being with a weak mind and and control it from the outside in. PCs that attack a mist-possessed harm only the forces within the mist rather than controlled being. Once defeated, the possessors withdraw from the being, leaving them in the state in which they were found.  
A character within 30 feet of the mist-possessed who succeeds on a DC 10 Wisdom (Insight) check can see that the being is not in its right mind. A character within 30 feet of the mist-possessed who succeeds on a DC 20 Wisdom (Perception) check can see the mist that holds the being in its thrall. Any characters within range of the All-Seeing Monocle can see this mist.

Scarecrows  
If at least one character has a passive Wis (Perception) of 11 or higher: 'A scarecrow lurches into view. Its sackcloth eyes are ripe with malevolence, and the carcasses of birds stuff its guts. Long, rusted knives protrude from its patchwork hands.'  
If more than one scarecrow is present, the others are close by. If none of the characters has the requisite passive Wis (Perception), the scarecrow takes the party by surprise.  
The clone of the witch Tabitha who defected to the Beast has crafted the scarecrows to hunt down and kill any Feathered Friends who leave the village of Adelaide, but the scarecrows will gladly kill anyone.

Fog-addled centaur  
Text: 'Through the mist comes a horse and rider-nay, a centaur.'  
The centaur is one of the many fey creatures left addled by the mist and not entirely in control of its own actions or fine motor skills. It ignores the PCs unless attacked.

Fog-touched fey  
Text: 'The smell of burning wood and oil cloys the air. Up ahead, fey creatures clutch their hands around their pointed ears. They stagger forward and upon seeing you, scream.'  
These fey of the forest have fallen prey to the influence of the Beast. What was once a family now shambles across the land as a ravening mob.

The Beast's fog-touched fey  
Text: 'The smell of burning wood and oil cloys the air, but the fog weighs upon you like a cold, wet cloth. Death approaches with footsteps betrayed by snapping twigs.'  
If the PCs are moving quietly and not carrying light sources, they can try to hide from these fog-touched fey whom the Beast has brought into service. The Beast has sharpened their bloodlust and shaped them into even an deadlier force than their unenlisted brethren. They attack the living on sight and will not stop until utterly destroyed.

Business Bat swarm  
Text: 'The stillness of the night is shattered by sharp and piercing mercantile chatter amidst the flapping of a hundred wings.'  
Business Bats serve the Beast by exhausting those who dare to wander at night, making them more susceptible to the Edelwood Slumber.

Bird swarm  
Text: 'Your presence in this accursed land has not gone unnoticed. A bird (any species) follows you for several minutes at a respectful distance.'  
The bird, one of Adelaide's many Feathered Friends, doesn't try to communicate.  
If the players leave the bird alone: 'More birds begin to take an interest in you. Before long, their numbers swell, and soon a flock of hundreds are watching you.'  
The birds fly away if attacked. If left alone, they watch over the party, remaining with the PCs until they reach the Elder Edelwood or a settlement.  
If the PCs have a random encounter with a hostile creature, the birds aid the PCs by attacking and distracting the enemy.

Trinket  
Text: 'You find something on the ground.'  
A random character finds a lost or purposefully discarded trinket. Roll on the Trinkets table in appendix A, select a trinket, or create one on the fly.

Fungais on a turkey wagon  
Text: 'The pungent, loamy smell of mulch stings your nostrils. Wooden wheels creak under a heavy load and turkeys gobble through the fog.'  
Mulch-gathering Fungais travel the wilderness mostly unharmed for their birth in the Edelwood mulch marks them as animated but vegetal parts of the scenery in the eyes of the mist. They may still run afoul of a mob of settlers, wild (but not dire) dogs, an accident, or the like.  
If the PCs ask to travel with them or have them to serve as guides, the Fungais will agree on the condition that the players gather some organic resource (DM's choice) to add to their mulch. As long as these Fungais are with the party, any random encounter roll that would result in a hostile encounter is treated as no encounter.  
Treasure-within the great stinking pile of mulch in the wagon is some small treasure (DM's choice).

Frogfolk  
Text: 'A deep voice croaks, "Who goes there?" Through the chill mist you see a six-foot frog in waterproof clothing. It stands on two legs and carries a three-tined trident...much like the kind used to spear frogs.'  
Frogfolk congregate in the Landboat of Frogs, a cavern complex overlooking Lake Barking (area Z), but may be found in and by any large body of water. They were once fey able to shift between true frog and humanoid forms, but the influence of the Beast forced and froze their shifting into this uncanny in-between.  
If the Frogfolk are in their right mind, they try to befriend the PCs and will travel with them to their destination unless they pass by a body of water. Friendly Frogfolk, however, will not stop talking and may have little understanding of personal boundaries.  
If the Frogfolk are under the influence of the mist, they will stalk the PCs in silence from a safe distance for hours. If their Dex (Stealth) checks exceed the PCs's passive Wis (Perception) scores, the Frogfolk attack with surprise when the PCs decide to take a short or long rest. Otherwise, they wait until the PCs are weakened by another random encounter before moving in for the easy kill.

Will-o'-wisp  
This encounter occurs only once. If it comes up again, treat the result as no encounter.  
Text: 'Several hundred yards away, through the fog, you see a flickering torchlight.'  
If the characters follow the light: 'The torchlight flutters as it moves away from you, but you never lose sght of it. You make your way quickly yet cautiously through the fog until you come upon a hooded and cloaked figure hunched beneath the twisting boughs of an Edelwood tree. The feeble light floats into their clawed and waiting hand. Two more figures step out from behind the tree, naked but for a pitch-like coating of black tree sap.'  
The three druids attack. The will-o'-wisp reappears from invisibilty to join the fray only when a PC is near death.

STAT ALTERATIONS/ADDITIONS

Fungais

Use the NPC commoner stats with the Fungai Curse and Putrescing Eye abilities as well as the following racial stats:  
Small humanoid, any non-evil alignment  
Speed 25 ft  
Senses: Superior Darkvision  
Gnome cunning: Advantage on all Int, Wis, and Cha saving throws against magic  
Mulch camouflage: Advantage on Dex (stealth) checks to hide in forest terrain  
Languages: Common, Gnomish, Undercommon  
Deep Gnome Magic Edit: Cast nondetection on self at will, without material components. Each of the following can be cast once before a long rest, also without materials: blindness/deafness, blur, and disguise self. Intelligence is the spell-casting ability and these are cast at their lowest levels.

Fog-addled centaur

Large fey, CN  
Armor Class 13 (tough hide)  
HP 35 (5d10 + 10)  
Speed 60 ft  
STR 18 (+4)  
DEX 14 (+2)  
CON 15 (+2)  
INT 6 (-2)  
WIS 8 (-1)  
CHA 5 (-3)  
Damage vulnerabilities: Iron vulnerability  
Damage immunities: Damage reduction 5/iron  
Condition immunities: Poisons, and charm, sleep, and hold spells  
Senses: Low-light  
Languages: understands Common and Sylvan but cannot speak  
Challenge: 3/4 (150 XP)  
Actions:  
Multiattack-2 attacks: one with arms and one with hooves.  
Shortsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) piercing damage.  
Shortbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 80/320 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) piercing damage.  
Hooves: Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage.  
Autumn Harvest (Su): Autumn is a time of endings. As a standard action, an unseelie fey can touch a creature with a special dispelling touch once per day. This touch acts like a targeted dispel magic. Caster level equal to HD.

Frogfolk

Medium humanoid, any alignment  
Armor Class 11  
Hit Points 58 (9d8 + 18)  
Speed 30 ft (40 ft in water)  
STR 15 (+2)  
DEX 13 (+1)  
CON 14 (+2)  
INT 10 (0)  
WIS 11 (0)  
CHA 10 (0)  
Proficiency Bonus: +2  
Skills: Perception +4, Stealth +3, Athletics/Acrobatics to jump/swim +4  
Damage Immunities: Oil slick for immunity to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks not made with iron weapons  
Senses: passive Perception 14  
Languages: Common  
Challenge: 3 (700 XP)  
Actions:  
Multiattack-two attacks: one with tongue and one with webbed appendages or frog-fishing trident.  
Tongue: Melee weapon attack, +4 to hit, reach 5 ft, one target. Hit 6 (1d8+2) bludgeoning damage. If hit, the Frogfolk may Grapple, Str or Dex save DC 12.  
Flippers: Melee weapon attack, +4 to hit, reach 5 ft, one target. Hit 7 (2d4+2) slashing or bludgeoning damage.  
Trident: Melee or Ranged weapon attack, +4 to hit, reach 5 ft or range 20/60 ft, one target. Hit 5 (1d6+2) piercing damage, or 6 (1d8+2) piercing damage if used with two hands in a melee attack.

Mist-possessed

Medium humanoid, chaotic neutral  
Armor class 13 (leather)  
Hit Points 136 (1d8 + 64)  
Speed 30 ft  
STR 18 (+4)  
DEX 14 (+2)  
CON 18 (+4)  
INT 13 (+1)  
WIS 16 (+3)  
CHA 18 (+4)  
Saving Throws: Str +7, Con +7, Wis +6, Cha +7  
Damage Resistances: Necrotic, psychic  
Damage Immunities: Poison  
Condition Immunities: Charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, poisoned, stunned  
Senses: Darkvision, passive Perception 13  
Languages: Languages of the host  
Challenge: 5 (1800 XP)  
Regeneration: Regains 10 hit points at the start of its turn. If it takes fire or radiant damage, this trait doesn't function at the start of its next turn. The possessing mist is destroyed only if it starts its turn with 0 hit points and doesn't regenerate.  
Vengeful Tracker: Knows the distance to and direction of any creature against which it seeks revenge, even if the creature and the mist-possessed are on different planes of existence. If the creature being tracked dies, the it knows.  
Actions:  
Multiattack-2 fist attacks.  
Fist: Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage. If the target is a creature against which the mist-possessed has sworn vengeance, the target takes an extra 14 (4d6) bludgeoning damage. Instead of dealing damage, the mist-possessed can grapple the target (escape DC 14) provided the target is Large or smaller.  
Vengeful Glare: The mist-possessed targets one creature it can see within 30 feet of it and against which it has sworn vengeance. The target must make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the target is paralyzed until the mist-possessed deals damage to it, or until the end of the mist-possessed's next turn. When the paralysis ends, the target is frightened of the mist-possessed for 1 minute. The frightened target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, with disadvantage if it can see the mist-possessed, ending the frightened condition on itself on a success.

Mist-manifested vision

Medium magical humanoid, any alignment  
Armor Class 11  
Hit Points 45 (10d8)  
Speed 0 ft, fly 40 ft (hover)  
STR: 7 (-2)  
DEX: 13 (+1)  
CON: 10 (0)  
INT: 10 (0)  
WIS: 12 (+1)  
CHA: 17 (+3)  
Damage Resistances: Acid, fire, lightning, thunder, bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks  
Damage Immunities: Cold, necrotic, poision  
Condition Immunities: Charmed, exhaustion, frightened, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained  
Senses: Darkvision, passive Perception 11  
Languages: Common  
Challenge: 4 (1100 XP)  
Ethereal Sight: Can see 60 feet into the Ethereal Plane when it is on the Material Plane, and vice versa.  
Incorporeal Movement: Can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. It takes 5 (1d10) force damage if it ends its turn inside an object.  
Actions:  
Withering Touch: Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (4d6 + 3) necrotic damage.  
Etherealness: Enters the Ethereal Plane from the Material Plane, or vice versa. It is visible on the Material Plane while it is in the Border Ethereal, and vice versa, yet it can't affect or be affected by anything on the other plane.  
Horrifying Visage: Each non-undead creature within 60 feet of the vision that can see it must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened for 1 minute. If the save fails by 5 or more, the target also ages 1d4 x 10 years. A frightened target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the frightened condition on itself on a success. If a target's saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the target is immune to this vision's Horrifying Visage for the next 24 hours. The aging effect can be reversed with a greater restoration spell, but only within 24 hours of it occurring.  
Possession (Recharge 6). One humanoid that the vision can see within 5 feet of it must succeed on a DC 13 Charisma saving throw or be possessed by the ghost; the vision then disappears, and the target is incapacitated and loses control of its body. The vision now controls the body but doesn't deprive the target of awareness. The vision can't be targeted by any attack, spell, or other effect, except ones that can hit ethereals, and it retains its alignment, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma, and immunity to being charmed and frightened. It otherwise uses the possessed target's statistics, but doesn't gain access to the target's knowledge, class features, or proficiencies. The possession lasts until the body drops to 0 hit points, the vision ends it as a bonus action, or the vision is forced out by an effect like the dispel evil and good spell. When the possession ends, the vision reappears in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the body. The target is immune to this vision's Possession for 24 hours after succeeding on the saving throw or after the possession ends.

Business Bats

Huge beast (tiny animal swarm), unaligned  
Armor Class 12  
Hit Points 90 (60d4 - 60)  
Speed 5 ft, fly 30 ft  
STR: 2 (-4)  
DEX: 15 (+2)  
CON: 8 (-1)  
INT: 12 (+1)  
WIS: 12 (+1)  
CHA: 4 (-3)  
Condition Immunity: Prone, restrained  
Senses: Blindsight 60 ft, passive Perception 11  
Languages: Common  
Challenge: 4 (1100 XP)  
Swarm: Can pass through spaces as large as the creatures that the swarm consists of.  
Echolocation: While it can't hear, the swarm has no blindsight.  
Keen Hearing: The swarm has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing.  
Actions:  
Swarm-bite, DC 15 Dex Save, Reach 0 ft, any targets within the swarm's space, Hit: 7 (2d4 + 2) Piercing Damage.  
Swarm-chatter, DC 15 Will Save, Reach 0 ft, any targets within the swarm's space. On a failed save the target is Exhausted.

Fog-touched fey

Medium fey, neutral evil  
Armor Class 8  
Hit Points 22 (3d8 + 9)  
Speed 20 ft  
STR: 13 (+1)  
DEX: 6 (-2)  
CON: 16 (+3)  
INT: 3 (-4)  
WIS: 6 (-2)  
CHA: 5 (-3)  
Saving Throws: Wis +0  
Damage vulnerabilities: Iron vulnerability  
Damage immunities: Damage reduction 5/iron  
Condition immunities: Poisons, and charm, sleep, and hold spells  
Senses: Low-light, passive Perception 8  
Languages: Common, Sylvan  
Challenge 1/4 (50 XP)  
Fog-fortified Fortitude: If damage reduces the fey to 0 hit points, it must make a Constitution saving throw with a DC of 5 + the damage taken, unless the damage is from a critical hit. On a success, the fey drops to 1 hit point instead.  
Actions:  
Slam: Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d6 + 1) bludgeoning damage.

Areas of the Unknown, Part I  
The following areas correspond to labels on the ORIGINAL CoS map of Barovia on page 35.

Common Features  
Unless otherwise specified, apply the following rules to doors, secret doors, locks, and webs:  
Doors-a wodden door can be forced open with a DC 10 Str check or DC 15 if the door is barred/reinforced. Increase the DC by 5 if the door is stone and 10 if iron. Decrease the DC b 5 if the door is made of glass or ice or is weakened (such as by rot/corrosion).  
Secret doors-if there are obvious clue's to its presence, such as scratch marks/footprints, a character with a passive Wis (Perception) of 15 or higher notices the secret door. Otherwise, a PC must search the area and make a DC 15 Wis (Perception) check.  
Locks-a creature proficient with thieves's tools can use them to pick a typical lock with a DC 15 Dex check. A typical padlock can be broken by smashing or slashing and succeeding on a DC 20 Str check.  
Webs-characters can pass through ordinary webs and thick cobwebs without restraint or being slowed. A character can clear cobwebs from a 10-ft square as an action. Webs woven by giant spiders are different (see Chap 5 in DM's Guide).

A. Worthwagon Road  
Text: 'Giant, fall-leaved trees loom on both sides of the road, branches clawing at the mist. Black pools of water lie like dark mirrors in and around the muddy roadway. Your boots are about to take the brunt of the muck.'  
If the PCs walk along the road, they arrive at area B after 5 hours. If traveling in a Fungai's turkey wagon, the travel time is halved.

B. Adelaide Gate  
Two sets of these gates exist: one to the west and one east of the village Adelaide.  
Text: 'The mist spills from the forest to swallow up the road behind you. Ahead, jutting from the fall-leaved woods on both sides of the road, gray stone buttresses arch just over head height in the fog. Dew slicks the woodgrain grooves of the sticky, black-varnished doors that hang on the stonework. Two headless stone statues of equally tall turkeys flank the gate. Their heads lie in the weeds at their feet, staring at you with large yet somehow still beady eyes.'  
If the characters are traveling on foot, the western gates swing open as they approaching, creaking on their hinges. The gates close behind the characters after they pass through. If riding in wagons, the gates open in front of the lead wagon and close after the rear enters.  
The eastern gates don't open for people trying to leave the Unknown and the fog chokes any that pass through the gates or skirts around them.  
If the Beast is defeated, the gates open and the North Wind clears the road east of fog.

C. The Edelwood Forest  
Text: 'Towering trees, whose fiery canopies are lost in heavy gray mist, black out all but a drear light. The tree trunks are unnaturally close to one another, and the woods have the silence of a forgotten grave, yet exude the feeling of an unvoiced scream.'  
If the PCs are traveling in wagons, they can continue to the village of Adelaide (area E) without incident.  
If the characters are on foot, whoever has the highest passive Wisdom (Perception) score notices: 'You catch the grandly tripping notes of a distant song.'  
A moment later: 'You hear the thick and fibrous ripping and tearing of a falling tree, its boughs snapping like bones.'  
If they head in the direction of the sounds: 'The stump of a recently chopped tree still oozes black sap. Beside it, a tree with knobs and gnarls rougly resembling a face upon its trunk clutches a crumpled envelope between two low and twining branches.'  
One week ago, this Edelwood tree was the man Alvin Oscar. He tried to escape from the Unknown with a letter from his master when the Beast stripped his final hopes and he succumbed to the Edelwood Slumber.  
The letter in Alvin's hand has a large 'A' set into its wax seal. The parchment is worn and flimsy. If the PCs open and read the letter, show the players "Andrew Kole's Letter (Version 2)" in appendix F, dated one week ago.  
Alvin was instructed to place the letter at the gates in the hope that visitors would find it and turn back.  
If the PCs linger in the woods, they hear the howl of a lone dog far off in the forest. Each round, one more dog adds its voice to the howling, the sound  
getting progressively closer to the party. If the characters are still in the woods after 5 rounds of howling, five dire dogs arrive and attack. If the characters are trying to leave the Unknown, these dire dogs are joined by a pack of 20 dogs. The attack stops if the PCs retreat to the road and head toward the village of Adelaide (area E).

D. Eternal River  
Text: 'The river flows as clear as the melting ice of the undomesticated mountains.'  
The river is roughly 50 feet wide, its depth ranging from 5 to 10 feet. Arching stone bridges span the river at two points, one near Adelaide (area E) and the other near Fallwater (area H). They are made from the same stone as the wall surrounding the Unknown.

E. Village of Adelaide  
See Chap 3.

F. Eternal River Crossroads  
Check for a random encounter whenever the characters reach area F, unless accompanied by Fungais.  
Text: 'An old wooden stockage creaks in a chill wind that blows down from the high ground to the west. Its holes are mercifully empty, though the wood bears the countless stains and splattermarks of weaponized produce. The well-worn road splits here, and a signpost opposite the stocks points off in three directions: Adelaide to the east, Fallwater Pool to the northwest, and Tavern Town to the southwest.  
The northwest fork slants in descent and disappears into the trees. The southwest fork winds around an upward slope. Across from the stockade, a shoulder-height stone wall encloses a small plot of graves in shroud of fog. The sticky, black-varnished sign above the entry reads: Eternal Garden Cemetery.'  
The northwest fork leads to the river and the road southwest leads to area H. The east road leads to an arching stone bidge and continues to Adelaide (area E). If the PCs are traveling with Fungais, the Fungais lead them along the northwest road to the Fungai Encampment.  
The stockade stands atop a wooden platform sticky with varnish made from the black sap of Edelwood trees.  
The cemetery holds 11 graves. PCs who dig up the graves find moldy bones buried without coffins. The denizens of the Unknown respect their dead by not enclosing them in the wood that marks souls for consumption and utter destruction by the Beast.  
The gravestones: 'Here lies Maude-she ran afoul of dogs, getting toothed and clawed.  
Here lies Pete-he raced naked on a cold day and ended in a dead heat.  
Here lies Trevor-he liked to eat mulch, which wasn't so clever.  
Here lies Stacy-she walked in on some druids and got clubbed by a mace-y.  
Here lies Bob-drawing a woodcutter's ire, he suffered a hatchet job.  
Here lies Camille-she fell into Lake Froget and sank like steel.  
Here lies Kipper-cursed by a Fungai, he got hit with his own whip-er.  
Here lies Shane-he argued with a centaur and got kicked in the brain.  
Here lies Lindy-she walked a roof too many on a day too windy.  
Here lies Will-he barrelled down Fallwater but took a bad spill.  
Here lies Gina-a marvelous musician until she swallowed her ocarina.'  
If your card reading reveals a treasure is here, it's buried in one of the graves. For each grave the characters dig up, there's a cumulative 10 percent chance of finding the treasure.

G. Fallwater Pool Encampment  
Text: 'The road gradually disappears and is replaced by a twisted, muddy path through the trees. Heavy-laden wagons have dug deep ruts into the earth.  
The canopy of mist and branches gives way to boiling thunderclouds above. There is a clearing here, next to a river that widens to a pond, some might say a small lake, several hundred feet across.  
Five colorful round tents, each ten feet in diameter, are pitched outside a ring of four, mulch-heaped wagons exuding a thick and loamy pungence. A much larger tent stands near the pond bank, its sagging sheet walls lit from within. Near this tent, eight horse-sized turkeys drink from the river.  
A deep gnome plays a mournful tune on an accordion while their brightly clothed brethren sing and dance to an entirely different song around a bonfire.  
A footpath continues beyond this encampment, meandering north between the river and the forest's edge.'  
The eight draft turkeys drinking from the river aren't easily startled.  
If the PCs are brought here by Fungais, their escorts remain at the camp and don't accompany the party any farther.  
Twelve Fungais (CN male and female Fungai commoners) are standing and sitting around the fire, telling stories and eating from barbeque skewers. Three others (CN male and female Fungai nobles) rest in three of the four wagons but leap into action if an alarm is raised.  
The Fungais will only attack if provoked with threats or insults. Otherwise, the PCs are offered food and drink and invited to join the reverie. If the PCs linger, continue with 'A Fungai's Tale' below. If they're in a hurry to leave, one of the Fungai tells them, "It was fated that you came to our camp. Ms. Evangeline foretold it. She awaits you." The Fungai directs them to the largest tent. If they head that way, continue with 'Ms. Evangeline's Tent.'

A Fungai's Tale  
Text: 'Once upon a time, maybe a year ago, a powerful wizard came to this land. He stood where you're standing...sitting. A charming man, he was, for a wizard, anyway. He thought he could rally the people of the Unknown against the Beast. He stirred them up to revolt-you know how they get-and brought the mob to the Elder Edelwood.  
But the Beast appeared and sang. And when he sings, he sings your secretest sins out of hiding. The mob scattered in despair only to plant roots from their feet. Every one of them fell to the Edelwood Slumber that day.  
But the wizard, he and the Beast fired their spells off at each other. In their fight, they flew from the Elder Edelwood to a precipice overlooking the falls. Saw it with my own eyes, I did.  
Thunder shook the mountainside, and boulders tumbled upon the wizard-thank spores he had magic. He was even able to take a direct bolt of lightning-I swear! But then the Beast fell on him. Nobody could've survived that.  
The Beast flung him a thousand feet to his death. I checked. I climbed down the river to find the wizard in case he was just mostly dead. But it was too late-the Eternal River had already flushed him down.'  
The Fungai storyteller doesn't remember the wizard's name, but recalls that it sounded important. If the characters haven't spoken with Ms. Evangeline, the storyteller urges them to do so.

Ms. Evangeline's Tent  
Text: 'Magic flames cast a reddish glow over the tent interior and reveal a low table covered in black velvet. Light glints from a crystal ball on the table as a hunched figure peers into its surprisingly foggy depths. As the elderly Fungai speaks, her voice rasps like two rocks sanding each other to dust. "Right on schedule!" Laughter bursts from her withered lips with the clacking of thrown stones.'  
Ms. Evangeline (see appendix D) speaks the name of each party member and makes some reference to that PC's past deeds. She then asks the characters if they want their fortunes read. If they say yes, she produces a worn deck of cards and proceeds with the sequence in Chap 1.  
If the characters don't want a reading, continue play using the reading you performed before starting the adventure.  
Ms. Evangeline has met a good many adventurers and lost souls in her time and knows they can't be fully trusted. She wants to free the Unknown from the curse of the Beast (see appendix D), but fears any harm to the Fungais, so she never gives aid or asks for any.

Treasure  
For each turkey wagon that the PCs search, roll once on the folowing table to determine the treasure:  
d20 Treasure  
1-10 None  
11-13 Sack of 100 units of currency (DM's choice) used in Tavern Town  
14-16 Pouch of 100 units of currency (DM's choice) used in Adelaide  
17-19 Sack containing one common item  
20 One magic item (see Magic Item Table B in the DM's guide)  
If your card reading reveals a treasure here, it's hidden in one of the wagons. Ms. Evangeline gives the PCs permission to search the wagons if they ask, and any such search also yields the treasure.

H. Fallwater  
If the characters reach area H by following the footpath from the Fungai encampment (area G): 'You follow the river to the base of a canyon, at the end of which a great waterfall roars into a pool, billowing forth cold and spraying clouds. A bridge of stone spans the canyon nearly one thousand feet overhead.'  
If the characters are on the high road: 'You follow the dirt road, its muck clinging to the side of the mountain, all the way to an arching bridge of mold, moss, and fungi-choked stone that spans a natural chasm. Stone dogs given a new coat coat of black moss stand alert over the corners of the bridge, ears and tails pointed.  
On the mountain side of the bridge, a waterfall roars into a clouded, roiling pool nearly a thousand feet below. The pool feeds a river that winds into the fog-shrouded and fall-leaved trees that blanket the valley like a cold forest fire.'  
The chasm's walls are slippery and sheer, and can't be scaled without magic or a climber's kit. The bridge is slick with the spray of the falls but safe to cross. The road south of the bridges leads down the mountainside to area F. The road north cuts through the mountains to area I. The dogs are harmless sculptures.

Areas of the Unknown, Part II

I. Black turtle cart  
Text: 'Even here, in the mountains, the forest and fog are inescapable. Ahead, the dirt road splits in two, widening toward the east. There you see patches of black cobblestone, slick and round as turtle shells.'  
If the Beast has invited to the Elder Edelwood or otherwise wants to steer them in his direction, add: 'Parked at the fork in the road, pointed east, is a large wooden cart hitched to a black turtle the size of two draft horses. The turtle regards you from heavy-lidded eyes gleaming with a weary intelligence.'  
The turtle is under the Beast's control. It waits for the characters to pile intot he cart if they so desire. There is room inside for eight of them. If they get in, the turtle draws the cart down the road to area J. The turtle can't be discourged from its course.  
PCs who don't want to travel east in the carriage can follow the road northwest through a set of wooden gates (area B) or travel south to the bridge at Fallwater (area H).

J. Edelwood Gate  
The following assumes characters arrive here in the cart from area I. Modify as needed if they arrive by other means.  
Text: 'After winding through the forest and craggy mountain peaks, the road takes a sudden turn east. The Elder Edelwood towers before you upon the precipice of a fifty-foot-wide, fog-filled chasm that disappears into unknown depths. Roots as thick and sturdy as stone towers crush and weave their coils in and out of the rock. Cracks spread from each monstrous stitch of wood and stone, countless displaced boulders jutting like loose teeth.  
A bridge of rope and wooden planks stretches across the chasm, creaking in the wind. A wooden portcullis, black with resinous varnish, hangs above the entry tunnel. Across the chasm, the Elder Edelwood gapes open from a massive hole in its trunk, a toothless maw. Rich, warm light spills from within, flooding the courtyard where its roots rip through the black cobblestone. Torches flicker on both sides of the maw, their flames sad pinpricks in comparison.'  
The bridge appears sturdy, but several of its boards are missing, and it creaks and groans under any weight. There is a 5% chance of one of the boards breaking under a creature. If one breaks, the creature must succeed on a DC 10 Dex saving throw or fall to the bottom of the cliffs, 1000 feet below. If a companion is within 5 ft of the creature and reaches out to grab it, the creature has advantage on the save.  
A patch of green slime (see Chap 5 of the DM's Guide) clings to the portcullis in the entry tunnel and can be spotted with a successful DC 20 Wis (Perception) check. The slime will not fall on those entering, but it does on the first character who leaves by this route.

K. Elder Edelwood  
See Chap 4.

L. Lake Froget  
Text: 'At the foot of a mountain, nestled in the autumnal forest, is a large lake. The water is perfectly still and dark, hiding all that enters its depths.'  
If the PCs arrive along the shore north of Tavern Town in the daytime, add:  
'Pulled up along shore are three small rowboats. A fourth boat sits in the middle of the lake. An ill-formed figure casts a fishing line over one side while a much smaller figure leans precariously over the other.'  
Each rowboat can safely hold five people. The person fishing on the lake is Frogfolk Bill, a resident of the Frogfolk community within the deep waters and frigid waters of Lake Froget. He is in a fog-induced trance and doesn't respond to anything or anyone unless attacked. His boat is 400 feet from the nearest shore.  
His companion is the seven-year-old Fungai runaway, Arabelle. Her budding gift of prescience has told her that great enemies of the Beast will come to the shores of Lake Froget. In her impatience, however, she's asked Frogfolk Bill to take her out to the center of the lake from which point she can watch every shore. She is unaware that Frogfolk Bill has been in a trance for days beside the rowboats, assuming it to be a mere idiosyncracy like those of the nearby townsfolk.

Roleplaying Frogfolk Bill  
Frogfolk Bill is currently under the influence of the Beast and will fall into Edelwood Slumber as soon as he leaves the boat if the characters take him to the shore. If the PCs push him overboard, he will sink down where other Frogfolk from the Lake Froget will come for his body but will be unable to wake him.  
Frogfolk Bill barely understands his own actions at this point. He is unarmed and does nothing to aid or thwart the characters.

Roleplaying Arabelle  
If the PCs watch the boat from the shore or row out into the lake, Arabelle notices them and stands up. In her excitement, she tips the boat and falls over the edge. A deep gnome child, she's too small to reach the edge of the boat.  
PCs who act quickly can save Arabelle before she drowns. A character on shore must make a DC 15 Str (Athletics) check to reach her in time. The DC is 10 for characters who took a rowboat out onto the lake.  
Like most Fungais, Arabelle is bald and has pastel skin. Her saucer-like eyes are an opalescent black. If rescued, she refuses to say where she came from unless a character succeeds on a DC 15 Cha check. If the PCs agree to let her travel with them and approach her family's camp outside Tavern Town (Chap 5, area N9), she will stop them and explain that she ran away because she's destined to help defeat the Beast-why else would she continue to have visions of the Beast's enemies? But her father, Mr. Lou, is too overprotective...of the precocious seven-year-old...and refused to help her seek or aid any such adventurers.

M. Mr. Elkman  
This encounter can occur anywhere along the base of Mount Barking: 'North of the mountain lake, the trees begin a steady climb up the slopes of Mount Barking until the jagged like of the toothed evergreens. The ground here is rocky, uneven, and tiring to navigate. Even the wild dogs avoid this neck of the woods. Soon, you climb above the blanket of fog that rises from even the trees themselves. Gray and pregnant thunderclouds roll overhead with muffled rumbles of thunder.  
You see an elk standing on a rocky spur about sixty feet away. It stands on its hind legs and brings the hooves of its forelegs to its mouth. It flings off the first dark hoof with its mouth. Slender, velveted fingers jointed in disparate places like antlers remove the other hoof. The thing in the shape of an elk waggles its fingers with the crack and pop of far too many knuckles.  
A gust of cold wind blows every last oiled and spiky hair off the bipedal elk, revealing a naked man. His thick black beard and long, matted hair are streaked with gray. His elk-brown eyes crackle with eldritch power.'  
Mr. Elkman (CN male human archmage) came to the Unknown a little over a year ago with the rest of the outsiders brought in with the fog tide. He tried to free the denizens of the Unknown from the Beast's oppression but overestimated the combat ability of a mob of commoners against the Beast's multitude of forces. The battle eventually brought Mr. Elkman and the Beast to the mountains where the Beast hurled the wizard over Fallwater (area H). The wizard, his staff and spellbook lost, survived the fall and retreated into the wintry mountains, hoping to regain his power, only to lose much of his willpower to the Beast's influence.  
Mr. Elkman has forgotten his original name and the world whence he came. In fact, he doesn't remember anything that happened before his fight with the Beast. He believes all who come to him are agents of the Beast intending to finish him off and will turn his destructive magic on the PCs shouting, "You think my magic has grown weak? Think again, thralls!"  
If reduced to 50 hit points or fewer, he shouts, "Tell the Beast he can break my body but never my spirit." He then attempts to flee.  
Mr. Elkman, truly none other than Mordenkainen, archmage of Oerth and leader of the Circle of Eight, has cast a mind blink on himself to prevent the Beast from using his past against him and further deteriorate his will. While the spell remains in effect, he will continue to assume the PCs are hostile. The PCs can determine he's under the mind blank spell with an 18 Int (Arcana) check. It has a duration of 3d6 hours, after which he will cast it again as soon as possible unless the PCs are there to prevent it.  
Mr. Elkman, as he prefers to be called in his present state of failure, has a different spell list from the archmage in the Monster Manual as noted here:  
Cantrips-fire bolt, light, mage hand, prestidigitation, shocking grasp  
1st (4 slots)-detect magic, mage armor, magic missile, shield  
2nd (3 slots)-mirror image, misty step, web  
3rd (3 slots)-counterspell, fly, lightning bolt  
4th (3 slots)-Mordenkainen's faithful hound, polymorph, stoneskin  
5th (3 slots)-Bigby's hand, cone of cold, scrying  
6th (1 slot)-true seeing  
7th (1 slot)-Mordenkainen's magnificent mansion  
8th (1 slot)-mind blank  
9th (1 slot)-time stop

Mordenkainen's mansion  
If the PCs prevent him from blanking his mind again, he invites them to his 'mansion.' He leads them up the mountain to an invisible doorway that serves as the entrance to his extradimensional lair, created by his very own Mordenkainen's magnificent mansion spell. He provides them with food and sanctuary where they are free to take an undisturbed short or long rest.  
Mr. Elkman is familiar with worlds beyond his own but not our world.  
If he isn't the foretold ally (see Chap 1), he declines to join them if asked. But he does imbue each character with a charm of heroism (see Chap 7, DM's Guide). Once the PCs leave and he has recovered his spells, he will cast mind blank again.  
If he is the foretold ally, Mr. Elkman will agree to help them fight the Beast at the final battle but will not join them in their travels.  
Mr. Elkman, originally a stubborn and difficult man who refused to suffer a fool, is a shell of his former self. He is silent and withdrawn, often staring into space and refusing to listen. He's much happier acting like an animal in elk form, however, and will assume it any chance that he gets. If he gets into a mood while in elk form, his reassumes his human positions and mannerisms but remains in his elk body.  
If the Beast is defeated and Mr. Elkman survives, he will agree to accompany the characters back to their world if asked, springing at the chance for a new beginning.

P. Loon River Crossroads  
Always check for a random encounter when the characters reach area P in their travels.  
Text: 'The road comes to an X intersection with branches to the northwest, northeast, southwest, and southeast. The lower half of a snapped wooden signpost thrusts upward at an angle near the easter elbow of the intersection. The top half of the sign, featuring muscular arms pointing in four directions, lies in the weeds nearby.'  
The characters can easily figure out how the top half connects to the lower half. When aligned and rejoined, the muscular wooden arms indicate Pottsfield and Winter Road to the Southwest, Lake Barking to the northwest, Tavern Town and the Elder Edelwood to the northeast, and Manorfield to the southeast.  
Worthwagon Road, which runs northeast to southwest between Tavern Town (area N) and Pottsfield (area S), is generally level. A quarter mile along the northeast branch, an arching stone bridge crosses Loon River.  
The northwest branch climbs gently only to become a mucky dirt trail through the woods within a half mile. It merges with Worthwagon Road again after a couple of miles, but not before sprouting a branch that leads to the Schoolhouse on Lake Barking (area V). The southeast branch wends downward, following Loon River into a valley. This trail at the mostly abandoned riverside burg of Manorfield (area U).

R. Raven River Crossroads  
Always check for a random encounter when characters reach area R.  
This stretch of Worthwagon road has multiple branches. One heads north, quickly turning to a dirt path to the Shcoolhouse (area V). One heads south, becoming Winter Road (area T) as it winds through the lower mountains and clings to the side of Mount Gawking. The third branch heads west toward the Mulch Fields (area W), dipping south as it changes from a road into a gravel trail.  
Standing at the busy intersection is a signpost: 'You see a weatherworn signpost next to the road. Its three arms point along the three branches of the road. The arm pointing north reads Pottsfield, and through the woods you can see an arching stone bridge spanning a river. The arm pointing east reads Tavern Town, and the road slopes up gradually in that direction. The lowest arm, pointing southwest, reads the Mulch Fields. The road slopes gently down in that direction and you see that gravel replaces the mud.'


	4. Chapter 4

Chap 4: The Village of Adelaide, Part I

Adelaide is one of the most severely oppressed settlements in the land. The village lies in the shadow of the Elder Edelwood, buried under fog and every night, any caught outside must contend with swarms of Business Bats.  
Until recently, the Beast had been paying nightly visits to Irene Kole, the adopted daughter of the village burgomaster. Irene carries a piece of the soul of the witch Tabitha, the only one to have ever escaped from the Beast. He intends to sing her final hopes away so that she may fall into Edelwood Slumber and become a tree for him to consume by fire.

Approaching the village  
When the characters first approach: 'Tall shapes loom out of the dense fog that surrounds all. Multicolored threads drape many of these quiet, empty-windowed buildings like webs of a yarn-spinning spider. No sound breaches the silent and smoky air except for a mournful sobbing that echoes through the streets from a distance.'  
The sobbing comes from the townhouse of Adelaide, the defected clone of the witch Tabitha (area E3). With the exception of areas E1 and E2, all shops in the village are among the permanently closed and yarn-draped buildings-Adelaide secretly being the one responsible. Unoccupied shops have been looted of anything valuable, but many are home to Feathered Friends, rebels whom Adelaide has transformed into birds. Feathered Friends are sentient but cannot speak or use any stats but those of tiny, ordinary birds.

House occupants  
If the PCs explore a residence other than Adelaide's townhouse (area E3) or the burgomaster's mansion (area E4), roll a d20 and consult the following table:

d20 Occupants  
1-2 None  
3-4 2d4 swarms of birds (non-hostile Feathered Friends)  
5-14 Villagers  
15-16 2d4 swarms of rats  
17-18 1d4 scarecrows  
19-20 2d4 the Beast's fog-touched fey (see appendix D)

The unoccupied  
Any house without villagers is one of the abandoned buildings draped in multicolored yarn. These threads also hang from the rafters of the interior. While having no properties other than ordinary thread, if a PC grabs hold of many threads looped around the same rafter, they can yank the single beam free with a Str DC 20.  
A house infested with rats or home to Feathered Friends appears thusly abandoned.  
Visual reference: . /8a5e395f...e18o2_

Villagers  
A house of villagers is home to 1d4 adults (any race, commoners) and 1d6-1 children (any race, noncombatants). PCs who listen at the door hear low, muffled speech from within. They can see humanoid shapes move in the windows, typically lighted at night. Villagers never attack first and flee from danger if possible. Many of them carry the holy symbols of the Queen of the Cloud, which can be any object but shaped as though formed by a cloud.

Scarecrows  
When the PCs open a door or shuttered window of an abandoned home hosting scarecrows, they see blood and the mutilated bodies of birds. If the PCs search the house, they will find the scarecrows in the process of bird-killing. The scarecrows will attack the PCs once they've dispatched the birds (1 round). Feathered Friends killed as birds do not revert to their original forms.

The Beast's fog-touched fey  
When the PCs open a door or shuttered window of an abandoned home infested by  
the Beast's fog-touched fey, a breath of mist smelling of burning wood and oil blows by them. Mist rolls and curls across the floor of the building and the scent becomes stronger as the fey converge upon the PCs.

Areas of the Village  
The following correspond to labels on the ORIGINAL CoS map of Barovia on page 42.

E1. Old Bill's Mercantile  
Text: 'The sparse light from this building spills out from behind drawn, heavy curtains depicting birds flying through clouds in colorful brocade. A sign over the door, creaking on its hinges, reads "Old Bill's Mercantile."'  
The establishment is 70 feet long by 40 feet wide. The owner, Old Bill (any race, commoner), sells items from the Adventuring Gear table in the Player's Handbook, but only buys items with a price lower than 25 (object of currency is the DM's choice), and sells them for 10 tens the price.  
He trades with Fungais when they pass through. He's happy to make a profit from any strangers unlucky enough to find themselves here. He serves his own interests and offers no sanctuary. He never bargains unless he has an idiosyncracy revolving around a particular object since, as he says, "If you want it badly enough, you'll pay for it." He has no competition in the village.  
If the PCs give him a hard time, he calls Perry Wimple (any race, gladiaotr but with Int 6 and no shield). Perry is his nephew and stockboy under a severely gouging contract. His muscles ripple under his leather tunic, giving ample notice of his strength. But in his simple-minded devotion, he won't leave Old Bill to join the PCs while his uncle has something to say about it.

E2. Last Tavern Left  
Text: 'A single shaft of light thrusts into the main square, its brightness a solid pillar in the heavy fog. Above the open doorway, a sign hangs precariously askew, proclaiming this to be the Last Tavern Left.'  
The building is about 60 feet square. A blazing fire in the unbarred hearth warms almost as much as it threatens to spill out over the hard wooden floorboards. The PCs can see a barkeep, three Fungais drinking and reveling together, and a human male, Isaiah Kole, son of the burgomaster Andrew Kole.

Roleplaying Isaiah  
Isaiah (LG male human veteran) is a young man who sits by himself at a corner table, sipping the house moonshine. The villagers call him "Isaiah the Lesser" or "Lessie" for short because he's lived in the shadow of his father for most of his life.  
Isaiah invites the PCs to join him, offers to pay for their homebrewed drinks, and asks for their aid in protecting his adopted sister, Irene Kole. If they agree to help, he takes them to the burgomaster's residence (area E4). He wants them to help escort Irene to Tavern Town, a settlement in the heart of the valley, and out of the shadow of the Elder Edelwood. He hopes the Beast will be unable to reach Irene there, as he's heard it is well-defended. Like most villagers of Adelaide, however, he hasn't left to see for himself because of the night terror of the Business Bats.  
Isaiah has spent all of his spare time training after learning about the wizard's assault on the Beast about a year ago. If the PCs suggest that he accompany them, he agrees provided that Irene is first brought to a place of safety. As long as Isaiah accompanies the characters, he acts as a party member for the purpose of determining each character's share of XP, though he gains no points himself.

Roleplaying other NPCS  
Barkeep-is a pudgy little man (any race, CN commoner) who mimicks the voices of his patrons when they take orders for drinks. Indeed, he even attempts to act like them when he brings them their order. He's a man of little knowledge but if asked for information, he'll make something up in the hopes that it helps.  
The three Fungais-(nobles) sit at a table near the front door. They are, in fact, the owners of the tavern, having given up mulch-gathering after their giant turkeys fell to dire dogs. Their names are Alan, Mirabel, and Sara, and the make sure the customers pay their tabs. If the PCs question them about their past or the tavern, all three exchange joviality for solemnity and relate the tale of the death of their turkeys, growing increasingly emotional until they're all wailing and sobbing at the end. As the PCs leave them, they suggest visiting Ms. Evangeline for their fortunes (Chap 2, area G).

E3. Adelaide's Townhouse  
Text: 'A moaning sob floats through the still, gray streets, coloring your thoughts with sadness. The sounds flow from a two-story townhouse with yarn cords for curtains.'  
The house, about 40 ft square, belongs to the one that the villagers call "Snow White" because the white-haired woman has never told them a name. She was never given a name by the rebels who created her to be a clone of the witch Tabitha, but the influence of the Beast has led her to believe that she is Adelaide, caretaker spirit of the village-why else would she have such power? She will not, however, attack the players unless they attack her or threaten the Beast in her presence. See stats below.  
Upon entering the house, the PCs feel the unnatural wintry chill that pervades the entire house (those who can may detect its magical nature). Multicolored threads drape over every frost-crystalled surface, the long ends of their strands clutched by the white-haired Adelaide sitting at the center of the floor in the upstairs bedroom. She wears only a simple patchwork shift and her bare feet leave no print in the frost which she creates.  
Few have noticed her resemblance to Irene Kole because the cloning process left her without pigmentation and Adelaide only leaves her home at night, but the PCs may perceive the similarities with a DC 11 Wis (Perception) check. Adelaide says nothing in the presence of anger but will speak, albeit haltingly, to someone who talks with her gently. Gertruda, whom she adopted as a servant but has come to care for as a daughter, is missing and Adelaide fears the worst. See Chap 4, area K42 for Gertruda's fate. Adelaide will only speak of her past if the PCs report back on Gertruda's fate.  
If the PCs search the house, they can find Gertruda's doll, a miniature stuffed scarecrow with an unsettling leer on its sackcloth face.  
Her idiosyncracies are decorating abandoned buildings with her yarn and knitting clothes for her scarecrows with needles of ice, though the DM may add more.  
Adelaide's song on YouTube.

E4. Burgomaster's Mansion  
Text: 'A weary mansion squats behind a rusting iron fence. The iron gates are twisted and torn. The right gate lies cast aside, while the left swings lazily in the wind, squealing and clanging with cyclic precision. Weeds choke the grounds and crawl up the sides of the house. Yet, many feet have tramped down a path to and around the domain.  
As you approach, you note where heavy claws have stripped the walls of their painted finish. Great, soot-black smears tell of many fires having been set upon the mansion. Not a pane nor shard of glass remains in any of the windows, all of which are boarded up. Someone has carved cloud sigils into the planks.'  
Characters who survey the grounds can, with a DC 11 Wis (Perception) check, discern the prints of dogs and humanoids. The footprints were made both by mobs and the Beast's fog-touched fey while the pawprints were made by dogs and dire dogs.  
Irene Kole (LG female human noble, 14 hit points), the adopted daughter of the burgomaster, is inside the mansion and won't open the heavily barred door unless she's convinced that they have no allegiance to the Beast. If convinced with good roleplay or a DC 15 Cha (Deception or Persuasion) check or by accompanying Isaiah, she opens the door and bids them enter.  
Once inside: 'The interior is well furnished, yet the fixtures and furniture show signs of great wear. Noticeable oddities are the boarded-up windows and holy cloud symbols in every room. The burgomaster is in a side drawing room on the floor, wrapped in a simple knit shroud. Flowers were placed on his body, but they've wilted, adding to the scent of decay.'  
Isaiah and Irene knit the shroud themselves.

Roleplaying Irene  
Irene, a striking human with auburn hair, has had much of her will and hopes stripped by the Song of the Beast. The villagers can sense her impending doom and avoid her on sight. The PCs are her best hope for protection, so she is willing to accompany them under certain conditions.  
She doesn't remember her early past, how she came to the Unknown, or where she came from.  
She does say that father was fortunate enough to die of heart failure than to fall into Edelwood Slumber. But no one wants to help her or Isaiah take their father to the cemetery for a proper burial. No one has even helped them carve a headstone, so they've simply collected stones to pile upon the grave. She asks the PCs to help deliver the body safely to Dona, the local priest (area E5). If the PCs convince her to go with them without moving the body, she will sneak away at any moment to do it herself, risks be damned.

STAT ALTERATIONS/ADDITIONS

Adelaide now a Glacier Witch (original online at giantitp)

Village of Adelaide, Part II

E5. Church of the Queen of the Cloud  
Text: 'Atop a slight rise, against the thick, root-stitched foot of the precipice supporting the Elder Edelwood, stands a gray, sagging edifice of stone and wood. A bell tower looms toward the back, and flickering light shines through holes in the shingled roof. The rafters strain with feeble creaks against their load. Though weather beaten and worn, the church miraculous has preserved the majority of its now pockmarked stained glass windows. They depict a jovial procession of all manner of beings within a city of white cloud, watched over by a regal woman in blue, her wings like clouds themselves.'  
If the PCs approach the doors: 'The heavy wooden doors are covered with claw marks and the black soot of fire.'  
The village priest, Dona, lives here. Other villagers, even if worshippers of the Queen of the Cloud, shun the church. The following areas correspond to labels on the ORIGINAL CoS map of the church on page 46.

E5A. Hall  
Text: 'The doors open to reveal a ten-foot-wide, twenty-foot-long hall leading to a brightly lit chapel. Flickering torches reveal the garish and unnatural colors of the disproportionate processionals in the stained glass.'

'Four doors, two on each side of the hall, lead to adjacent chambers. The chapel floor is strewn with debris. A soft voice from within recites a prayer. The floorboards rattle with an inhuman scream from beneath, drowning out all supplication.'  
The scream comes from the undercroft (area E5g). The soft voice belongs to Dona, the priest (area E5f).

E5B. Anna's bedroom  
Text: 'This dirty, lightless room contains a wooden bed with a straw-filled mattress. Mounted above the headboard is a wooden holy symbol of a shaped cloud.'

E5C. Dona's bedroom  
Text: 'This debris-strewn room contains a wooden bed with a straw-filled mattress. An oil lamp burns brightly from a small table beside the bed. Mounted above the headboard is a wooden holy symbol of a shaped cloud.'  
This is Dona's room and contains nothing of value.

E5D. Trapdoor  
Text: 'Time and neglect have punched holes in the ceiling of this moldy room, which contains a few broken roof shingles in puddles of stagnant water. In one corner, set into the floor, is a heavy wooden trapdoor held shut with a chain and padlock. High, ear-piercing screams lance through the door.'  
Dona has lost the key to the iron padlock, though a thorough search of the church can reveal its location with a DC 20 Wis (Perception) check. If the chain is removed and the door opened, the screaming stops. The trapdoor is swollen and stuck in its frame, so that a successful DC 12 Str check is required to pull it open. Below is a wooden staircase that descends 15 ft in the undercroft (E5g).

E5E. Office  
Text: 'An old desk and chair stand against the south wall, a wooden holy symbol mounted above them-the smiling head of the church's goddess. A ten-foot-long iron rod attached to the north wall stands bare, suggesting a tapestry once hung there. Against the far wall stands a wooden cabinet with four tall doors.'  
An empty wooden donation box rests on the chair. The desk contains blank parchment, quills, and dried-up inkwells. Though large, the cabinet contains little: a tinderbox, blue candles, and two books: Hymns to the Queen of the Cloud, a volume of chants, and The Blade of Truth: How to Fight a Cult, a strange book mixing logic exercises with lurid descriptions of violent cult worship.  
Song reference on YouTube.

E5F. Chapel  
Text: 'The chapel is in shambles with overturned and broken pews littering the dusty floor. Dozens of blue candles mounted in candlesticks and candelabras light even the shadiest corner. At the far end of the church sits a claw-scarred altar, behind which kneels a priest in soiled vestments of white and blue. Beside her, a long, thick rope stretches up into the bell tower.'  
If the PCs haven't entered the undercroft: 'From beneath the chapel floorboards, you hear a young woman cry out, "Mother! I'm starving!"'  
Dona (LG any race acolyte) has been praying throughout the night. Her voice is hoarse and weak. A little more than a year ago, she and her 20-year-old daughter, Anna, joined the mob against the Beast and stormed the Elder Edelwood, having been lured into following the "all-mighty" wizard Mordenkainen (Chap 2, area M). By all accounts, the wizard died by the Beast's hand. The rebels fell to mist and song. Anna, in her weakened state, became one of the mist-possessed.  
Dona was able to trap her daughter in the undercroft, where she has remained, unfed, to this day. She cries out to her mother at all hours. Meanwhile, Dona spends every moment in prayer and supplication to the Queen of the Cloud.  
Dona is not aware that attacking a mist-possessed only harms the mist that shrouds the host. If the PCs seem intent on "slaying" Anna, Dona does her best to stop them without outright murdering them.  
In addition to the lore known to all denizens (see Chap 2), Dona knows the following:  
-Irene Kole is adopted, found at the edge of the forest near the Thronestone. She had no memory of her past.  
-Every night at midnight, a silent procession of scarecrows makes a beeline through the church graveyard to the townhouse of "Snow White" (see Special Events below).

Funeral for the Burgomaster  
If the PCs bring Andrew Kole's body to the church, Dona presses them into helping her bury the body in the cemetery (area E6) at dawn. During the burial, Dona prays to the Queen of the Cloud in exchange for the escape of Andrew Kole's soul to the afterlife.  
Once he's interred, Dona suggests taking Irene as far from the Elder Edelwood as possible, either Pottsfield (Chap 8) or Tavern Town (Chap 5). Dona is unaware of the dangers in Pottsfield.

E5G. Undercroft  
The church's undercroft has rough-hewn walls and a floor of damp clay and pungent earth. Rotting wooden pillars strain under the weight of the wooden ceiling. Candlelight from the chapel above slips through the cracks, allowing you to glimpse a silhouette exhaling fog in the far corner.'

The silhouette is Anna, a mist-possessed (see Chap 2). She's not in her right mind and will approach the group in steps, observing, before suddenly lunging to attack. If they flee, she will attempt to escape. Dona will try to stop her even if she dies in the process. If Anna is allowed to escape, she is the mist-possessed who will appear in random travel encounters until she is freed. Once restored, she will tell the PCs the events that led to her possession (see area E5f), but will have no memory of what transpired afterward.

If your card reading reveals a treasure in the undercroft, it's in a moldy old donation box in the southwest corner of the room. The chest has a simple lock but is not trapped.

E6. Cemetery  
Text: 'A fence of wrought iron with a rusty gate encloses a rectangular plot of land behind the dilapidated church. Tightly packed gravestones shrouded by fog have had their inscriptions blackened and scratched away. Shallow, coin-shaped depressions cut across from one corner to the other.'  
During daytime, the cemetery is still and peaceful. But every night at midnight comes a procession of scarecrows reporting back to Adelaide (see Special Events below).

E7. Black Turtle House  
This house of cultists is described in appendix B.

Special Events  
If the PCs are out at night in Adelaide, there is a 50% chance they will encounter 1d4 swarms of Business Bats and a 25% chance that one swarm of Feathered Friends will come to their aid if any such hostile encounter occurs. The hostile swarms will not pursue the PCs into any building, but the Feathered Friends may follow at the DM's discretion.

March of Scarecrows  
Every night at midnight, 1d8+2 scarecrows march from the forest across the cemetery and into the village to Adelaide's house where they make a silent report to her using knife-fingered sign language about the Feathered Friends and others they've killed.  
Text: 'A scarecrow hops out of the fog and over the iron fence into the cemetery. Another and another follow, marching on stilted legs to the opposing corner.'  
If the PCs are without a light source and hidden: 'The scarecrows hop the fence again and continue toward the village.'  
If the PCs are detected, the scarecrows will attack. They will not follow the PCs into any buildings if the PCs hold the door against them, DC 10 Str check. Instead, they return to their march.

The Woodcutter  
This event only occurs at night if the PCs are making their way through the village.  
Text: 'You hear the sound of mud squelching under small, wooden wheels. A being as hairless as a gnome but large as a human pulls a rickety cart laden with logs through the fog.'  
The lone woodcutter has been charged by the Beast to spy on the town while en route to the Old Grist Mill. If the characters are without a light source and move quietly, they can follow the woodcutter all the way back to the Old Grist Mill. But if the woodcutter detects them, it will recognize the PCs as strangers and follow them until they enter a building or attack. If they retreat into a building, the woodcutter goes instead to the Elder Edelwood to make their report. If they attack, the woodcutter fights to the death unless the Beast encounters and stops the woodcutter.

STAT ALTERATIONS/ADDITIONS

The Woodcutter is racially a medium-sized Fungai and shares their racial stats except for spell-casting that requires verbal components and has the following monster stats:  
Woodcutter  
Size Medium  
Type Humanoid  
Alignment unaligned  
AC 9  
HP 93 (11d8+44)  
Speed 30 ft.  
STR 19  
DEX 9  
CON 18  
INT 6  
WIS 10  
CHA 5  
Senses Darkvision 60 Ft.  
Passive Perception 10  
Languages Understands The Languages Of Its Creator But Can't Speak  
Immunities Poison; Bludgeoning, Piercing, And Slashing From Nonmagical Weapons That Aren't Iron  
Condition Immunities Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned  
Challenge Rating 5  
Traits  
Siege Monster: The woodcutter deals double damage to Objects and structures.  
Berserk: Whenever the woodcutter starts its turn with 40 hit points or fewer, roll a d6. On a 6, the woodcutter goes berserk. On each of its turns while berserk, the woodcutter attacks the nearest creature it can see. If no creature is near enough to move to and Attack, the woodcutter attacks an object, with preference for an object smaller than itself. Once the woodcutter goes berserk, it continues to do so until it is destroyed or regains all its hit points.  
The woodcutter's creator, if within 60 feet of the berserk woodcutter, can try to calm it by speaking firmly and persuasively. The woodcutter must be able to hear its creator, who must take an action to make a DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check. If the check succeeds, the woodcutter ceases being berserk. If it takes damage while still at 40 hit points or fewer, the woodcutter might go berserk again.  
Aversion of Fire: If the woodcutter takes fire damage, it has disadvantage on Attack rolls and Ability Checks until the end of its next turn.  
Immutable Form: The woodcutter is immune to any spell or effect that would alter its form.  
Magic Resistance: The woodcutter has advantage on saving throws against Spells and other magical effects.  
Magic Weapons: The woodcutter's axe attacks are magical.  
Actions  
Multiattack: The woodcutter makes two magical axe attacks.  
Slam: Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) slash damage.


	5. Chapter 5

Chap 5: The Elder Edelwood

When the caretaker abandoned Edelwood, his body, the Elder Edelwood continued to grow upon the precipice where he'd left it. It grows to this day, digging its roots ever deeper into the Thronestone, crushing and choking its foundation as its autumnal arms reach ever higher to the sky. The Beast, a fraction of Edelwood's size, uses his abandoned body as a home and fortress. The masons, engineers, and architects who've carved out and furnished the interior have been rewarded with eternal life, though they spend most of it sleeping in the roots at the heart of the Thronestone.  
The locations described in this chapter can be found on the map in the ORIGINAL CoS on page 52.

Random Encounters  
d12+d8 Encounter  
2 Beatrice (see appendix D)  
3 Steward (see appendix D)  
4 1 black cat  
5 1 broom of animated attack (see appendix D)  
6 1d4+1 giant centipedes  
7 Toy by Mr. Toymaker  
8 Unseen servant  
9 1d4+1 village rebels (any race, commoners)  
10 2d6 swarms of spiders  
11 1d4 evil druids  
12 1d6 swarms of Business Bats  
13 1d4 fog-touched fey  
14 1d4+1 Black Turtle acolytes (any race, evil)  
15 1d4 woodcutters  
16 Trinket  
17 Giant spider cocoon  
18 1 Black Turtle witch (see appendix D)  
19 1d4+1 of the Beast's fog-touched fey  
20 The Beast (see appendix D)

Village rebels  
Text: 'A loud clamor echoes through the living halls of the Elder Edelwood. Cries of "Kill the Beast!" are mixed with bold voices shouting, "Never again!" and "To the root!"'  
The wrathful mob brandish torches and pitchforks in a sad display of futile force. Everywhere they go, they shout for justice. They follow the PCs unless prevented from doing so. As long as they're with the adventurers, random encounters occur on a roll of 9 or higher.

Black Turtle witch  
Text: 'You hear a woman's scratchy voice calling out a name. "Grizzlegut! Grizzlegut, where are you? A pox on you, you mangy cat!"  
Through the darkness comes a woman with a black turtle tattoo on her completely shaved head.'  
PCs can try to hide from the cultist (who has darkvision) or catch her by surprise. This witch belongs to the Black Turtle Cult who believe that the Beast is the next to wear the shell mantle of their god, the Black Turtle. The Beast fits the description of the one prophesied: "a being of god-like power, gaunt and full of holes, a shell in need of a shell."  
The witch calls out the name of her black cat familiar who has wandered off and gotten lost. If the PCs confront her, she attacks.  
This encounter happens only once. If this result comes up again, treat it as no encounter.

Black cat  
Text: 'The darkness itself lets out a demonic hiss. A black cat darts out of the shadows, scampering past you.'  
Grizzlegut, the familiar, searches for its mistress. It wants nothing to do with the PCs but attacks if cornered. If the PCs capture or kill the cat, this encounter doesn't occur again. Otherwise, treat as no encounter.

Toy by Mr. Toymaker  
A toy can only be encountered if the characters are moving, not resting. Otherwise, treat as no encounter.  
Text: 'You find a discarded that toy no child could love.'  
The toy has a slogan stitched or printed on it in tiny letters: "No Fun for You!" Roll a d6 to determine the specific toy:  
d6 Toy  
1 A plush werewolf stuffed with sawdust and tiny wood-carved babies. It has dull knife blades for claws and retractable teeth.  
2 A smiling jester marionette with tangled strings and tiny copper bells sewn into its cap.  
3 A wooden puzzle box, 6 inches on a side, carved with silhouettes of leering clown faces. The box rattles when shaken. A character who spends a short rest fiddling with the box can figure out how to open it with a successful DC 20 Int check. The box is empty, with nothing inside to explain the rattling.  
4 A faceless doll in a wedding dress that has yellowed and frayed with age.  
5 A vaguely coffin-shaped jack-in-the-box containing a pop-up vampire.  
6 A spring-loaded set of wooden teeth with fangs, all painted white. The teeth gnash and chatter for 1 minute when the spring is wound tight (requiring 1 action) and released.

Broom of animated attack  
Text: 'You hear a scratching noise. Out of the shadows comes a broom, sweeping its way toward you as though held by invisible hands.'  
When it gets within 5 feet of a party member, the broom enchanted to sweep the Elder Edelwood attacks.

Swarms of spiders  
Text: 'A mob of spiders, all spiny legs and shining orb bodies, skitters out of the darkness across the dusty floor.'  
The spiders gang up on one party member. In the confusion, one spider tries to crawl into the character's backpack and hide there. It makes a Dex (Stealth) check contested by the character's passive Wis (Perception) score. If the spider loses, the character sees it enter the backpack. If it wins, it waits until the character takes a long rest before scuttling out to attack.

Fog-touched fey  
Text: 'The smell of burning wood and oil cloys the air. A low fog rolls in around your ankles, heralding jilting footsteps.'  
If the characters are moving quietly and not using light sources, they can try to hide from the fog-touched fey.

Beatrice  
Beatrice has cast a greater invisibility spell on herself and is stealthily hunting the Beast through the Elder Edelwood. Choose one character in the back of the marching order for the following: 'You feel a gentle tap on your arm but see nothing behind you.'  
If the character reacts in an alarming or threatening manner, she hastily whispers, "We're on the same side, fool. Wait, I'm still invisible."  
Though determined to kill the Beast, the Fungai Beatrice fears she's over her head. If the PCs don't ask her to join, she wishes them well and goes on her way (she can be encountered again later). If they invite her to join them, Beatrice interrogates them about everything they've learned about the Beast in a rapid-fire manner-not to challenge them but as a simple matter of (monster-hunting) business.

Giant centipedes  
If one or more PCs have a passive Wis (Perception) of 16 or higher: 'You hear the scuttle of many legs...from above you.'  
The giant centipedes that have made their home in the Elder Edelwood prey on all living creatures in whom they detect no touch of fog. They hunt by dropping down onto their prey from above.

Giant spider cocoon  
A giant spider cocoon is encountered only if the characters are moving (not resting); otherwise, reroll.  
Text: 'A white cocoon is suspended from the ceiling amid thick webs. It wraps around a humanoid shape.'  
Characters who can reach it can cut it open to free what's inside.  
d6 Contents  
1 A faceless, Edelwood mannequin.  
2 A Black Turtle witch (see appendix D). She screams like a wild animal and slings spells with abandon.  
3 One of the Beast's fog-touched fey (see appendix D). It fights until killed.  
4 A villager (CN commoner). If freed, they cackle until silenced or a calm emotions spell is cast on them. Only when calmed will they attempt to flee.  
5 A dead villager that serves as a host to a swarm of spiders which crawl out from every orifice.  
6 A Fungai scout. The Fungai knows the Elder Edelwood's layout and helps the characters until a hostile encounter, at which point they flee.

Steward  
If the Beast's clockwork steward was killed/destroyed or captured in a previous encounter, this encounter doesn't occur. Otherwise, Steward approaches quietly. A character whose passive Wis (Perception) score meets or exceeds Steward's Dex (Stealth) check can hear the steward.  
Text: '"The Beast wishes to see you," intones a metallic voice in the darkness.'  
The steward directs the PCs to a random location in the Elder Edelwood.  
d6 Location  
1 Black Turtle room (area K15)  
2 The organ room (area K25)  
3 Library (area K37)  
4 The canopy (area K57)  
5 The parched fountain  
6 Laboratory (area K76)  
The Beast isn't actually in that location unless the card reading (Chap 1) says that he is. Steward will accompany the PCs to the locations and continue to follow them without helping or harming them during any hostile encounter unless they find the Beast or they ask Steward to leave. If the Beast attacks, the steward will fight with him, praising whatever the Beast does in monotone, even if he fails. In other combat and while navigating, Steward will repetitvely intone directional messages such as, "Turn right in 50 ft," or "recalculating."

Evil druids  
If one or more PCs have a passive Wis (Perception) of 16 or higher: 'You can't shake the feeling that something is behind you. When you look back, you see only your shadow. It steps out of the darkness, its bare feet smeared in black sap.'  
If more than one druid is present, the others are close by but hidden in the darkness. The Elder Edelwood is a holy place for the druids and they induce a trance in themselves upon entrance. They will follow the characters but do not attack unless attacked first. They otherwise obey the Beast's commands.

The Beast  
The Beast makes a surprise appearance.  
Text: 'Thunder cracks outside the living walls of the Elder Edelwood, and you hear the thick rip and tear of a falling tree. By your side, a voice sings out: "Tralalala tralalala, cut the wood to light the fire!"'  
Any character who has a passive Wisdom (Perception) lower than 19 is surprised as the Beast appears seemingly out of nowhere. The Beast prefers to attack the closest surprised character. Otherwise, see appendix D for his stats.

Swarms of Business Bats  
Text: 'A multitude of wings flap in the distant but cannot drown out the sound of mercantile chatter.'  
Spies and accountants of the Beast, they attack the PCs without provocation.

Trinket  
A random character finds a lost trinket: 'You kick something-a trinket.'  
Roll on the Trinkets table in appendix A or create one on the fly.

Unseen servant  
Text: 'A curious objects drifts into view as though held aloft by an invisible force.'  
This unseen servant was created by the Beast and is permanent until destroyed. Roll a d6 to determine the carried object.  
d6 Items  
1 A dust tray full of what appear to be shiny black orbs. If a character comes within 5 ft of the servant, the orbs to be disposed of awaken, revealing themselves as a swarm of spiders.  
2 A wooden bucket full of mulch. A character who reaches inside may find an animal-related trinket recently separated from its animal.  
3 An unlit, handheld metal lantern exactly the size and shape of the Beast's own.  
4 A bloodspattered deck of tarokka cards.  
5 A tiny black turtle whose legs swim sluggishly in the air. Taking the turtle attracts 1d4 Black Turtle cultists (any race, bandits), who arrive in 1d4+1 rounds.  
6 Mordenkainen's spellbook with a black velvet dust jacket stitched over its leather cover. The book contains all the spells that Mr. Elkman knows. On subsequent occurrences of this encounter, the tome is a children's illustrated storybook.

The Beast's fog-touched fey  
If any character has a passive Wis (Perception) score of 16 or higher, the party isn't surprised. In that case: 'Mist floods the room, curling into every nook and cranny. A dark silhouette moans as it staggers forward. Behind it, another follows.'  
These fey, once forest-dwelling rebels against the Beast, now lash out at anything that moves.

Black Turtle acolytes  
Text: 'Methodic footfalls step in time with chanting voices. You smell incense as thick and overpowering as a smear of black sap across your nose.'  
The small group of cultists with black turtles tattooed over their shaved heads are devoted to the Beast and will attack you as soon as he appears. Before then, however, the chanters will follow the PCs, singing, unless the PCs run and hide. The presence of the chanters alerts any hostiles to your presence and makes taking rests an impossible task.

Woodcutters  
Text: 'An axehead glints behind the back of one with gnomish proportions on a human scale.'  
If the PCs are moving quietly and not carrying light sources, they can try to hide from the woodcutters who begin with their backs to the PCs.  
These woodcutters are making their report to the Beast but have gotten lost within the Elder Edelwood. If there are more than one, they communicate to each other with sign language saying, "He's not here" after searching a room.

Elder Edelwood, Outer Reaches  
Refer to the ORIGINAL CoS map 2 of the castle for areas K1 through K6.

K1. Front Courtyard  
As the characters enter, the weather worsens. Bone-chilling rain falls, becoming a torrent within the hour. Lightning routinely lights the sky, followed by thunder reminiscent of a tree falling.  
Text: 'Thick, cold fog swirls in this shambling suggestion of a courtyard where the monstrous roots of the god tree plunge and weave into stone as though it were soft as mulch. Lightning lances the swollen clouds, thunder shakes the Thronestone, but the Elder Edelwood stands.  
Through the drizzle, you see the wink and flutter of two torches hopelessly outshone by the great, pooling light that spills from the gaping hole of the entrance.'  
Low stone walls enclose the courtyard, cut from the same rock as the wall of the Unknown. A howling wind rushes through the courtyard, chasing the PCs into the "shelter" of the Elder Edelwood (area K7).

Gate towers  
Each outer, living gate tower has a Dark metal door with a built-in lock. PCs who enter a gate tower find themselves in a hollow stretching high above them. The Beast leaves the doors unlocked as they aren't meant to keep anyone out but to keep in those whom he wishes to torment, those with especially strong wills.

K2. Center court gate  
Two gates, one north and one south, prevent easy access to what lies beyond them.  
Text: 'Familiar stone walls connect the outer bark of the Elder Edelwood with the keep. Roots breaching from the stone fill the archway that should offer passage with their living tangle.'

K3. Servants's courtyard  
Text: 'A stone carriage house nestled in the flesh of a massive root stands silent in its corner. Across from the carriage house, a slender sham of a door leads into the keep.'  
The wooden door is swollen and stuck in its frame. A PC can shoulder open the door with a DC 10 Str check.

K4. Carriage house  
If the characters enter: 'The double doors swing open to reveal a wooden cart and a black-shelled turtle the size of two draft horses. The turtle eyes you wearily as it crunches a beaky mouthful of massive root vegetables having the strength and girth of many femur bones.'

K5. Garden  
Text: 'At the back of the keep, stained-glass windows lodged in the living wood and depict a gaunt being riddled with holes holding a black circle over their spindly shoulders. Below the window, green shrubs strain skyward from lines of mounded earth. Wooden gates block the way to some kind of overlook.'  
PCs who uproot any of the shrubs discover root vegetables the size and shape of those eaten by the carriage house turtle. Beyond the wooden gates lies area K6.

K6. Overlook  
Text: 'Dark clouds overhead drizzle constantly, but the massive canopy of autumn leaves blocks the heavens themselves. The overlook has a familiar low stone wall, but sculpted dogs stand watch before it.'  
If a character peers over the balcony: 'A flash of lightning illuminates the dismal shingles and sodden cords of Adelaide. A low-lying blanket of fog smothers all but these tops.'  
If a PC with passive Wis (Perception) 15 or more peers over the wall: 'Underneath this platform, about one hundred feet down, the stone opens to a nest of outward-spanning roots. The space between them could fit humanoids marching in a line.'  
The descent to the space and its tunnel to area K88 can't be accomplished without magic or a climber's kit.  
Anyone who falls from the overlook plummets 1000 ft.  
If the card reading indicates an encounter with the Beast here, he is looking out over the balcony.

Elder Edelwood, Main Floor  
Refer to the ORIGINAL CoS map 3 of the castle for areas K7 through K24.

K7. Entry  
If the PCs approach from the courtyard (area K1): 'The maw of the god tree hangs open, welcoming all with its flood of warmth and light.'  
If the characters approahcing from K1 come within 10 ft of the entrance: 'Knobby wooden steps, smoothed and compacted by centuries of use, lead to a grand hall, the source of the warm illumination. The foyer vaults on living, branching beams. Overhead, four statues of dragons glare down, eyes flickering in the torchlight before their feet.'  
If anyone but the Beast enters this area through the wooden doors adjoining area K8, the dragons come alive. They drop to the floor, hissing and spitting, and attack. They don't attack characters who enter from the proper, staged entrance at K1.  
The dragons are four red dragon wyrmlings instructed to allow guests to enter but not to leave. If intruders leave this area, the dragons return to their perches and revert to stone. In stone, they are impervious to weapon damage. They never leave the room.

K8. Great entry  
Text: 'Cobwebs stretch between columns carved into the wood of the god tree. Sputtering torches cast dancing shadows down the great, dusty hall, and gild the drifting motes with golden light. Along the curves of the domed ceiling, cracked and faded frescoes depict three faceless, featureless humanoids in the stages of Edelwood Slumber and transformation.  
Painted double doors stand closed to the east. To the north, a wide staircase embedded into the wood of the wall climbs to heights shrouded in darkness. To the south, light spills beneath another set of painted doors.'  
The southern hallway is described in area K9. The wide staircase leads to area K19.  
If here by invitation: 'A fey cast in brown metal and underneath a shirt, vest, tie, and coat of silk descends the wide staircase as quiet as a cat. He tips his tophat to you with a flourish and bow, intoning, "The master has been expecting you. Please, follow me."'  
The clockwork fey is Steward, the Beast's steward (see appendix D). He fights only if attacked. Otherwise, he leads the PCs to the grand buffet (see area K10).  
Development  
After the characters leave this room, eight Black Turtle cult fanatics (any race) occupy the room and attack any character who dares return.

K9. Guests's hall  
Text: 'Torchlight flutters against the wall of this hall vaulted by a crisscross of living beams. To the east, an arched hallway stretches for twenty feet, ending at a spiral staircase leading up and down. Next to the hallway, the oiled and glistening shell from a massive black turtle has been embedded into the walls of a shallow alcove. To the west, painted doors hang ajar, and a steady bright light escapes through the opening. A song swells from behind the doors, its waltzing melody of power and submission escaping into the hall.'  
The staircase leads down to area K61 and up to area K30. The double doors provide access to area K10.

K10. Grand buffet  
The first time entering the room: 'Three enormous, glowing chandeliers illuminate the chamber from where they've been embedded into the ceiling. Living pillars drop from the ceiling to wood-ringed floor along the garishly painted walls. In the center of the room, a heavy table stretches out before you, its clawed feet merging with the floor. The table is laden with many foods: roasted beast basted in a savory, mushroom sauce, roots and mushrooms, sweet fruits and raw mushrooms. Places are set for each of you with wooden dishes and utensils. At each place is a glass jar, much like those used for canning, but filled with a thick, milky substance. Water condenses in droplets on the chilled walls of the glass.  
A screen of mirrors with many partitions sits in curves and angles in front of the far west wall. A cloaked and antlered figure stands at their center, singing a blaring, thunderous melody to their infinite reflections. Suddenly, he stops. A deep silence falls over the hall, and the figure swivels toward you on spindly heels carved full of holes.'  
The figure is an illusion of the Beast. It welcomes the PCs and invites them to dine. It acts like the Beast and plays the part of the gracious but off-kilter host without a sense of personal space. It invites the PCs to eat, "Eat more, I insist," and explains they are free to explore. The illusion may talk about the Beast's history and shed light on the Elder Edelwood in an offhand, dismissive way, but their answers provide no useful information on the inhabitants, treasures, or dangers other than to say there have never been enough guests.  
The illusion lasts only for 3 rounds. When the time is up, or the illusion is attacked, it simply disappears with a mocking laugh.  
The moment it disappears, every fire flares up, threatening to burn the ceiling and set the entire tree alight. But before they can begin, a mass tide of fog cascades through the Elder Edelwood and snuffs out every open flame in the god tree.  
Characters who move the screen of mirrors discover curtains and a door behind them that opens to K11. This cannot be found until the mirrors have been moved out of the way.  
The food on the table is edible though discovered to be vegan, the meat being a mushroom-based substitute. The milky but non-milk liquid is aluminum-magnesium hydroxide, antacids used to relieve heartburn, acid indigestion, and upset stomach.

K11. South archer's post  
Text: 'The rooted courtyard is visible through arrow slits in the north and west walls. Leaning against the wals are mirrors of various sizes and concavities, all distorting appearances.'  
Each arrow slit is 2.5ft tall and 4in wide. Business Bats use the arrow slits to leave and return to the Elder Edelwood every night.  
A secret door in the east wall can be pulled open to reveal a length of curtain behind a wooden-backed screen of mirrors in area K10. Characters can't pass through the door until they move the mirrors.

K12. Turret post  
Text: 'A high dome in the tree caps the thirty-foot-wide octagonal room before you. Above the arrow slits, faded frescoes on the ceiling depict a cloaked and antlered silhouette singing through narrow slits to faceless, featureless humanoids crawling and writhing in the courtyard.'  
Each arrow slit is 2.5ft tall and 4in wide.

K13. Turret post access hall  
Text: 'This long, narrow corridor runs east to west. Cobwebs fill the hall, obstructing sight beyond a few feet.'

K14. Hall of druidic faith  
Text: 'Dust chokes the grand hall, stretching into the darkness ahead and covering the wooden sculptures of Edelwood trees painted in black sap that line the hallway on both sides. Webs hang from the arched ceiling like drapes and bridge the trees together.'  
Painted doors stand at both ends of the hall. Above those leading to area K15, a black turtle has been relieved from the wood and painted in black sap.  
If the characters re-enter this room, they discover 1d4 evil druids in the midst of a ritual involving live animal sacrifice (animal of the DM's choice). If they release the animals, the druids would rather recollect them than attack.

K15. Black turtle room  
Text: 'Dim, colored light filters through vast, pockmarked stained-glass windows. They depict three scenes. In the first, a black turtle towers over the world, devouring a line of humanoid silhouettes that wrap around the edge of the scene. Opposite the turtle stands another, stamping the world flat as humanoid silhouettes ride its back in exultation. At the center, a gaunt being riddled with holes holding a black circle over their spindly shoulders.  
A balcony runs the length of the west hall below the stained-glass but fifty feet above the floor. In the center of the balcony, two dark shapes are slumped in tall chairs.  
Polished benches stand in rows before an altar upon a stone platform embedded into the floor of living wood. The sides of the altar are carved with bas-reliefs of winged turtles atop cresting waves. The light from above falls directly on a wooden statuette varnished with black sap. A figure is draped over the altar with a painted sign sewn into the thin shroud covering them.'  
The sign reads "TURTLE EATER." The skeleton under the shroud belongs to Gus, a villager from Tavern Town with a penchant for eating turtles. The cultists learned of him, kidnapped him, and brought him back to the chapel for divine punishment.  
A railing carved into the wall cordons off the upstairs balcony described in area K28.  
Treasure  
The statuette on the altar is called the Holy Symbol of Turtlekind (see appendix C). Any creature that has eaten a turtle that touches the statuette must make a DC 17 Con saving throw, taking 88 (16d10) radiant damage on a failed save or half as much on a successful one. It is left to the DM whether the Beast or others have eaten turtle, but members of the Black Turtle cult have never done so.  
If your card reading reveals a treasure here, it lies on the floor behind the alter. If it indicates an encounter with the Beast, he stands in a swarm of Business Bats on the ceiling or poses against the stained glass-a dark, cloaked and antlered shape that begins to move.

K16. North cult room access  
Text: 'This arched room connects a vast chamber to the east and a staircase that rises to the west. Alcoves carved in the north and south walls hold wooden sculptures of trees still growing with the wood of the god tree.'  
The vast chamber to the east is the Black Turtle room (area K15). The staircase to the west is described in area K29.

K17. South cult room access  
Text: 'This arched room connects a vast chamber to the east and the landing of the staircase to the west. To the left of the landing, the stairs curl down into darkness. To the right, the stairs climb into thick drapes of cobwebs. Alcoves carved in the north and south walls hold wooden sculptures of trees still growing with the wood of the god tree.'  
The vast chamber to the east is the Black Turtle room (area K15). The staircase to the west is described in area K18.

K18. High tower staircase  
Text: 'Flagstones embedded into the wall forms a spiraling staircase around a 20-foot-wide, uncut wood core. Cobwebs fill the staircase, obscuring even the view of the ceiling.'  
The staircase starts at area K84 and spirals up around a central shaft (area K18a), climbing 300 feet to the top of the tower (area K59).  
A recently installed masonry wall blocks the staircase 10 feet below the landing west of area K17. A chink in the wall allows fog to flow from one side to the other. A PC who inspects the wall closely can spot the chink with a successful DC 10 Wis (Perception) check. The wall is too sturdy to knock down, but they can create a hole wide enough to crawl through in 1 hour, or reduce the entire wall to a pile of masonry bricks and rubble in 2 hours.  
Thirty feet below the wall and 50 feet above the foot of the steps, a small crack has formed in the outer wall of the stairwell. The crack is 0.5 in wide, 5 in tall, and 12 in deep; it leads to the Elder Edelwood's parched fountain (area K63). PCs can notice the crack automatically as they climb or descend the stairs. Widening the crack enough to squeeze through requires major excavation and would take several days.  
The shaft these stairs wrap around (area K18a) runs vertically from area K59 to area K84 without any holes or obstructions. The inner wall of the stairwell between the staircase and shaft is solid.

K18a. High tower shaft  
PCs can access this 10-foot-diameter, 390-foot-tall stone shaft from the top or bottom of the high tower (areas K59 and K84).  
The shaft is dark and choked with cobwebs that stir in the occasional rush of wind. Climbing the shaft is impossible without magic or a climber's kit.  
Business Bats fly up the shaft at night, exiting from the arrow slits. After business, they return by the same route.

K19. Grand landing  
Text: 'Massive stairs rise to a landing twenty feet wide by forty feet long. Crisscrossing arches support a ceiling covered with frescoes twenty feet overhead. The frescoes depict shadowy miners with pickaxes handing mounds of dark ore to the silhouette of a woman as bent and gnarled as a tree grown in a storm.  
Dust floats in the still air. At each end of the south wall, a staircase rises into darkness. Between the staircases are twin alcoves, each one containing watchful, wooden dogs as large as draft horses.'  
Both staircases on the south wall climb to area K25. The massive stairs lead down to area K8. Anyone who crosses in front of the alcoves activates the dog traps.  
Both dogs are mechanical traps, each activated by a pressure plate hidden int he floor in front of its alcove. A PC who searches for traps in one location notics both plates with a DC Wis (Perception) check.  
When 40 or more pounds are placed on a plate, the dog falls onto the weight. Any creature on the plate must succeed on a DC 14 Dex save or take 30 (5d10) bludgeoning damage from the dog statue.  
The pressure plates can be disabled on a DC 15 Dex check. The trap can also be disabled by destroying the dogs, who have an AC 18, 5 hit points, and immunity to poison and psychic damage.

K20. Heart of growth  
Text: 'A mosaic floor depicts small, shadowy figures carving a much larger but spindly figure from the trunk of a large tree in lurid color. A spiral rises slowly into the darkness of the tower, flagstones embedded into the outer wall. In the center of the room, another set of stairs leads down.'  
The staircase in the center of the floor (K20a) leads down to area K71.  
The spiral staircase has no railing and connects the main floor with each level above. First, the staircase climbs 50 ft to a landing (see ORIGNAL CoS map 4), form which an open archway leads to area K13. East of that opening is a secret door that conceals a ladder weaved from the living tree fibers down to area K34.  
The stairs ascend another 40 ft to another landing (see ORIGINAL CoS map 5), with archways leading to areas K45 and K46, and then climb another 100 ft to a landing beneath the heart (see ORIGINAL CoS map 8). The staircase wraps around the heart, ending at the top of the tower (area K60).  
The heart  
The tower, including the spiral staircase is alive with the hundreds and thousands of filaments from a fungal growth. When the characters set foot on the staircase for the first time: 'As you step onto the spiral staircase, a reddish light flares high overhead, then settles into a dull, pulsing red glow. You now see the full immensity of this wooden tower. The spiral staircase circles up the tower's full height.  
The tower, 60 ft wide at its base, becomes narrower as it climbs. At the pinnacle of the hollow tower, a large, fleshy heart of translucent fungus pulsates with red light. Above the heart, the stairs continue upward.'  
Have the PCs and Heart roll initiative. If the PCs leave the tower and return later, they can reroll but the Heart's initiative doesn't change.  
The awakened tower shakes and pitches on the Heart's initiative count. ANy creature on he stairs or hanging on a tower wall must succeed on a DC 10 Dex save or fall to the base of the tower. PCs who are crawling on the staircase or who lie prone on the stairs succeed automatically.  
The Heart is a 10-foot-diameter mass of bioluminescent fungus that floats on root filaments taking nutrients from the god tree's walls. PCs standing on the stairs can make melee attacks against the Heart, provided their weapons have a reach of at least 10 ft. It has AC 15 and 50 hit points. If the heart is reduced to 0 hit points, it deflates in a splatter of blood-red spores, which rain down on the tower interior and staircase. The destruction causes the ower to stop shuddering and the tower becomes dark. Destroying the Heart earns 1500 XP.  
The Beast and the Heart are connected, such that any damage the Beast takes is transferred to the Heart. If the Heart is reduced to 0 hit points this way, the Beast takes the leftover damage. The Heart regains all hitpoints at dawn if it has at least 1 hit point remaining.  
Ten giant centipedes sleep under the staircase. They awake and attack any who threatens the Heart.  
The Beast senses damage done to the Heart and sends four fog-touched fey to destroy those responsible. They arrive in 3 rounds.

K20A. Tower hall stair  
This stairway connects areas K20 and K71.

K21. South tower stair  
Text: 'Fluttering torches illuminate this spiral staircase. A cold, tidal wave of fog cascades down the circling stairway, snuffing the very heat of the torches as it passes.'  
These stairs start at area K73 and go up through areas K61, K9, K30, and K35 before ending at area K47.

K22. North archer's post  
Text: 'The rooted courtyard is visible through arrow slits in the walls.'  
Each arrow slit is 2.5 ft tall and 4 in wide.

K23. Servants's entrance  
Text: 'Dim light filters in through a dust-caked window in the east wall. A door next to the window leads to the northeast courtyard. Everything is coated with dust, including a large, heavy table in the center of the floor. A thick book lies open on a desk, with an inkwell and a quill next to it. There is a broken door embedded in the north wall, and a staircase in the south wall plunges into darkness. On each side of the staircase, a skeletal figure stands sagging at attention, holding a wooden sword.'  
The skeletons, which were assembled by Bellevue (see area K62), are held together with wire taxidermy frames and are hung on pegs.  
The staircase descends to area K62. The east door leading to the courtyard is swollen in its frame and requires a successful DC 10 Str check to force open. The north door is cracked and hangs loose on its hinges; beyond it lies another dust-filled chamber (area K24).  
The ancient book is weathered and brittle, but the ink in the well is fresh. At the top of each page is scribed the message "Please register for your own convenience and that of your next of kin." The book is more than half-filled with names, all of them in different scripts but all illegible.

K24. Servants's quarters  
Text: 'Furniture carved out of the wood of the god tree occupies this 20-by-40 ft room. Soft but dusty patchwork quilts cover the beds. Dim light comes from a pair of dirt-caked windows in the northeast corner. A narrow staircase with no railing ascends along the north wall.'  
The stairs lead to area K34.

Elder Edelwood, Court of the Beast  
Refer to the ORIGINAL CoS map 4 for areas K25 through K34.

K25. The organ room  
Text: 'Dim light from the courtyard fall into this grand hall through a window of wooden latticwork in the west wall. Hundreds of dust-laden cobwebs drape the hall, hiding the ceiling form view. Directly across from the window stand a set of painted doors in the east wall. Farther south, a single door also leads from the east wall. Staircases at both ends of the north wall lead down.  
At the far southern end of the hall looms a massive organ, a behemoth of dense, shining wood and heavy Dark metal. It sits like the throne of a giant atop a stone dais, facing south.'  
A secret door in the south wall leads to area K13. It's hidden by dust and cobwebs and requires a successful DC 16 Wis (Perception) check to find.  
Both staircases in the north wall lead down to area K19. The eastern painted doors can be pulled open to reveal area K26 beyond. The single door in the east wall opens into area K30.  
If your card reading reveals a treasure here, it lies on the stone dais, just behind the organ.  
If your card reading reveals an encounter with the Beast, he's pounding away at the organ. Though trained in operatic singing, his organ proficiency is left to the DM's discretion.

K26. Guards's post  
If the characters enter this hall through either set of painted doors: 'The doors open to reveal...another set of doors 10 ft ahead. Between them, the 10-ft corridor stretches north to south. At each end of the hall, floating in the darkness, is a humanoid skeleton.'  
The "floating" skeletons hang from pegs on the north and south walls. They've been assembled by Bellevue (see area K62), and are held together with taxidermy wire. Behind the skeleton on the north wall is a secret door that can be pushed open into area K33.  
If the PCs enter this hall by way of the secret door adjoining K33, they see the skeleton hangin on the inside of the secret door as soon as they pull it open, and, with a light source or darkvision, can see the skeleton at the south end of the hall as well.

K27. Flight of the mannequin  
Text: 'This 20-ft-high hall has a fibrous, vaulted ceiling draped with cobwebs. A low moan seems to travel the length of the corridor as it rises and falls, intoning utter despair.'  
The moaning is only the wind.  
PCs who examine the ceiling can, with a DC 20 Wis (Perception) check, spot pulleys and a rope that run the full length of the corridor along the ceiling, well hidden by the cobwebs.  
Halfway down the hall on the south side is a narrow secret door that can be pulled open to reveal area K31.  
Hidden in a compartment above the western set of painted doors is a dressed wooden mannequin that looks exactly like the Beast. It wears a black cloak and its arm and fingers are outstretched in a threatening manner. The mannequin is attached to a rope that runs through pulleys fastened along the length of the hallway ceiling.  
When one or more PCs reach the midpoint of the hall: 'You hear the creak of wood and the squeak of a bat. In the direction of the noise, you see an antlered silhouette, spindly arms and fingers outstretched. A deep, throaty chuckle fills the hall with discordant echoes. His cloak flares out behind him as he bears down on you from above!'  
The creak is the sound of the hidden compartment opening, followed by the squeak of the pulleys. The chuckle is a harmless magic effect.  
Have the PCs roll initiative and run this as a combat encounter, the "Beast" having initiative 5. On its turn, the mannequin flies over the PCs, 10 ft above the floor, and doesn't stop until it reaches the east end of the hall. On its next turn, it reverses direction and flies back to its compartment. The trap resets after 1 min.  
A character who attacks the mannequin from the floor needs a range of at least 10 ft. The mannequin as AC 15 and 10 hit points, immune to poison and psychic damage. If reduced to 0 hit points while in the air, it falls to the floor.

K28. Mannequin's balcony  
Text: 'A railing upheld by small, wood-carved mannequins encloses this long balcony, overlooking the Black Turtle room. Two massive and antlered mannequins of the Beast's cloaked silhouette stand side-by-side in the center of the balcony, covered with dust and strung with cobwebs along the thin wires that uphold them in false flight. The mannequins face away from the painted doors that give access to the balcony.'  
Two of the Beast's fog-touched fey (see appendix D) kneel in supplication to the mannequins in the shadows. They remain motionless until one is disturbed or a creature comes within reach of attack.  
The balcony is 50 ft above the floor of the Black Turtle room (area K15). A staircase north of the painted doors leads down to area K29.

K29. Creaky landing  
Text: 'The embedded planks of this staircase are made of old wood that strains underfoot, creaking and groaning.'  
The staircase climbs from area K16 to K28. It seems unstable but is sturdy. The creatures in area K28 can't be surprised by anyone climbing the creaky steps.

K30. The hoarse man  
Text: 'Dusty scrolls and tomes line the walls of this room. More scrolls and books lie scattered on the floor, around four heavy wooden chests fitted with sturdy metal locks. The only unobstructed floor space is directly in front of the doors on the east and west walls.  
In the center of this clutter stands a great desk, varnished black with sap. Behind it, a centaur scratches on a seemingly endless scroll of paper with a dry quill pen. Nearby a tasseled rope hangs from a hole in the ceiling.'  
The figure is Mr. Lippy (LE male centaur), the head accountant and manager of the Business Bats. He has no interest in the PCs or their concerns and asks them only not to touch anything in a voice hoarse from talking over incessantly chattering Business Bats. Mr. Lippy pulls the rope the instant he feels his work threatened, requiring an action.  
Once the rope is pulled, a tremendously loud gong sounds, shaking the room without toppling anything over. 2d6 swarms of Business Bats arrive in 1d4 rounds to drive out anyone still in the room.  
Many years ago, Mr. Lippy realized that he could resist the Beast and wind up like his fog-addled herd or join the Beast and retain all mental capacity-for him, an obvious choice. He holds a combination of distaste and fear toward the Beast but would never act out against his master. He is, however, perpetually weary from having to shout all directions at his underlings, the Business Bats. If treated with kindness, he'll open up about his workplace frustrations. If the PCs hear him out, he'll divulge the hiding place of the All-Seeing Monocle (see appendix C), as indicated by the card reading. He can draw a crude but geographically accurate map to its location.  
As for the chests, he knows there's a key that unlocks all four, but it was lost in the last business flurry (meeting) with the Bats.  
The western door leads to area K25. The eastern door provides access to a staircase (area K21) that leads down to area K9 and up to a landing outside area K35, continuing upward to area K47.  
Treasure  
The room contains hundreds of worthless books and scrolls describing accounting procedures and the like. The first PC who spends at least 10 min searching the room and succeeds on a DC 15 Int (Investigation) check finds a book with a sticky leather cover. The pages of the book have been gunked together by Bat guano, which hides the key in its mass.  
Two chests contain 10,000 cp in whatever item is being used for currency in Tavern Town. A third chest contains 1000 gp in whatever item is being used for currency in Adelaide. The fourth holds 500 pp in whatever item is being used for currency in Pottsfield hidden under a luridly illustrated children's storybook...drawn by one with the art skills of a child...depicting the wild but idyllic life in the fey sanctuary before the Beast.

K31. Trapworks  
Text: 'The aromas of grease and well-oiled wood hit your nostrils as you pull open the door. This ten-by-twenty-foot room is filled with intricate machinery, except for small spaces between the stone gears and metal chains and pulleys. On the other side of the machinery, to the south, is a rectangular shaft that rise up form the darkness and continues past this room. Attached to the west wall is a steel plate that has a metal level protruding downward.'  
See the diagram on the ORIGINAL CoS pg 76. The shaft (aea K31a) descends 90 feet from here to area K61, and ascends 40 ft to area K31b. Another 40 ft above that is a stone trapdoor in the ceiling that opens into area K47.  
Operating the machinery in this room raises a stone elevator compartment from the bottom of the shaft, lifting it past this room to the top of the shaft. See area K61.  
A PC can spend 1 min disabling the machinery in this room. The elevator trap won't function until the machinery is repaired.  
The lever embedded in the western wall is normally down. Moving it up activates the trap and raises the elevator. Sliding it down lowers the elevator and resets the trap.  
When the elevator trap in area K61 is activated, all chains, pulleys, and gears in this room move at once. It takes 10 seconds (1 round) for the elevator to reach the top of the shaft, and the machinery doesn't stop until the elevator completes its journey.  
A secret door in the north wall can be spotted from this side without a check and opens into area K27.

K31A. Elevator shaft  
Text: 'Cold air fills the rectangular shaft, the worn, stone walls of which are coated with slick fungi glowing green and blue. Taut chains extend up and down the shaft. The links are thick and covered with grease.'  
The shaft is 170 ft tall. It starts at area K61, climbs 90 ft to area K31, another 40 feet to area K31b, and another 40 ft to area K47.  
When the elevator trap is activated (see area K61), a stone elevator measuring 10 ft on a side rises up the western half of the shaft. At the same time, a solid block of stone, also 10 ft on a side, descends in the eastern half, acting as a counterweight. Both stone blocks have chains bolted to them to hoist them as needed.  
Scaling the shaft is impossible without magic or a climber's kit, and the greased chains are too thick and slippery to grasp.  
Set into the roof of the shaft is a 5-ft-sq stone trapdoor that can be pushed open to reveal area K47.

K31B. Shaft access  
Text: 'This 10-ft-sq room overlooks a vertical shaft to the south that plunges into darkness and continues upward.'  
This vantage point is 130 ft from the bottom of the shaft (area K31a). Forty feet down is area K31, and 40 ft up is a stone trapdoor in the ceiling that opens into area K47.  
A door in the north wall is easy to spot from this side (no check required) and opens into area K39.

K32. Steed of the Beast  
Text: 'Oil lamps illuminate this long, rectangular chamber and fills it with the resinous scent of Edelwood. Stained, yellowed lace hangs in eight curtains from wooden bars overhead. Behind them, you see the lithe silhouette of a unicorn. She hums a haunting tune behind closed lips that resonantes within your mind.'  
Helga, the unicorn, claims to be a prize captured by the Beast from the forest who pleads for rescue. She will join the party if asked along. She intends to attack the characters but does so only if she sense an opportunity that doesn't involve fighting the entire party. She also attacks if commanded by the Beast.  
Helga wears an enchanted gold necklace with a ruby pendant that has her under a domination spell. If the PCs remove the pendant, she is freed from the Beast's control but returns to her original state of vulnerability to the song of the Beast. Helga despairs and begins to fall into the Edelwood Slumber. There is no hope for her and she will enter Edelwood Slumber within ten minutes. Wherever the PCs leave her inside the Elder Edelwood, if they return in an hour, they will find the living floor sprouting up and tangling around her. After 8 hours, her body sprouts its first Edelwood shoots.  
Treasure  
Helga's necklace with its ruby pendant was a deceitful gift of peace from the Beast. If the PCs remove it, the pendant shatters and its evil enchantment ends. Even without the ruby, it is worth 750 gp in whatever item is used for currency in any settlement.

K33. Apartment stair  
This dark hall is concealed behind two secret doors.  
Text: 'This arched corridor has been swept clean. Four-foot-tall tapestries hang from the walls. They depict a cloaked and antlered silhouette with arms stretched upward standing within the Thronestone on a living knot of roots. Shadowy humanoid figures curl up inside the thread border of the roots.  
A painted door is set into the west wall, and light seeps through its cracks. A staircase at the north end of the west wall ascends into darkness.'  
The staircase climbs 40 ft to area K45. The door in the west wall opens into area K32.

K34. Servant's upper floor  
Text: 'Dirt-caked windows allow little light to enter this upstairs room. Broken bed frames and torn bits of mattress litter the floors. Your movements send recently liberated feathers flying from their pillowcases. A wardrobe varnished with sticky black sap stands between two cracked, full-length mirrors hanging on the south wall. A staircase descends along the north wall.'  
If someone opens the wardrobe, read:  
Text: 'A plain white dress yellowed with age flies out of the wardrobe and dances to the middle of the room. It flaps around to the music of the storm.'  
If anyone touches the dancing dress, it collapses in a lifeless heap on the floor. Otherwise, it dances forever. Hanging from the wardrobe are a few servant's uniforms made for something with the torso of a humanoid but the legs of a horse. These are neither animated nor valuable.  
Set into the south wall, behind the hanging mirror west of the wardrobe, is a secret door. It can be pulled open to reveal a closet choked with cobwebs and that contains a wooden ladder that leads up 20 ft to another secret door in the tower stairway (area K20).  
The staircase leads down to area K24.

Elder Edelwood, Rooms in Need of Sweeping  
Refer to the ORIGINAL CoS map 5 of the castle for areas K35 through K46

K35. Guardian vermin  
Text: 'A door of delicately engraved steel stands at the west end of this short, dark hallway. The door seems to shine with a light of its own, untouched by time. Flanking the door are two alcoves in shadow. A dark, humanoid figure, bulging in their uniform, stands in each alcove.'  
The dark figures are four swarms of rats piled atop one another to form manlike shapes (two swarms per alcove). They are under the Beasts control and attack, in vaguely humanoid shape, anyone that tries to move through this area. The steel door is engraved with the image of a woman as bent and gnarled as a tree grown in a storm. She stands at the epicenter of the metal rendered into liquid shape but reaching out in fractals that branch away like right-angled roots.

K36. The cakery  
Text: 'Dust plunges and coats your lungs. A sweet yet pungent smell of mold and decay fills the room, in the center of which stands a long table carved from the living floor. Dust covers the tabletop like a tablecloth inexplicably laid over the dishes and utensils.  
At the heart of the table, a large, tiered cake leans heavily to one side. The once white frosting has turned green with mold and age. Cobwebs hang like a dusty wedding gown down the sides of the cake. A single, wooden doll, cloaked and antlered, adorns the crest of the cake.  
Suspended above is a web-shrouded chandelier embedded into ceiling. An arched window in the south wall is draped with heavy, actual curtains. Resting in a wooden stand by the window is a dusty lute, and standing quietly in the souhwest corner is a tall harp shrouded in cobwebs.'  
With a DC Wis (Perception) check, a PC who examines the cake can make out the iced lettering on top: "Eat me." A character who eats the cake must make a DC 15 Con save or become poisoned.  
The room has wooden doors in the north and west walls and an ornate steel door in the east wall (see area K35 for details).  
The harp stands 6.5 ft tall, weighs 300 lbs, and is fashioned from dark, stained wood with taut srings of gut. Approaching the harp causes the invisible stalker in the room to take a position there and begin to play. It will kill anyone who tries to stop it from playing. But if a character approaches the lute, it will run from the harp to play the lute. If characters stand near both, it will run back and forth between them, playing only snatches of music.  
Treasure  
The lute, though old and dust-covered, has survived the passage of time. It is a magic instrument of the bards called a Doss lute. If someone attempts to take it, however, the invisible stalker attacks.

K37. Library  
Text: 'A blazing hearth fire fills this room with rolling waves of autumnal light. The walls are lined with ancient books and tomes, their leather covers well oiled and preserved through careful use. All is in order here. The floor is concealed beneath a thick, luxurious pelt rug. In the center of the room is a large, low table, waxed and polished to a mirrored finish. Even the poker in its stand next to the fireplace is polished. Large, overstuffed divans and couches are arranged about the room. A polished, wooden throne faces the hearth. A huge painting hangs over the mantelpiece in a heavy, gilded frame, covered by a thin, sackcloth shroud.'  
Removing the shroud reveals the image of a bewitching, antlered fey. Anyone who looks on the portrait must make a DC 15 Wis save or be charmed by it. Those who are charmed for 1 hr or make the save are immune to this effect for the next 24 hrs.  
The chamber has several exits, including a large set of double doors in the west wall, a door at each end of the north wall, and a door to the south.  
THe back wall of the fireplace contains a secret door, which is opened by lifting the poker from its stand. The fire must be extinguished to reach the door safely. Otherwise, a creature that enters the fireplace for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there takes 5 (1d10) fire damage and catches fire. Until someone takes an action to douse the flames on the creature, it takes 5 (1d10) fire damage at the start of each of its turns. This fire damage is cumulative with the damage from standing in the fireplace.  
The secret door provides access to area K38.  
Treasure  
The real treasure here is the Beast's collection of books-over one thousand unique tomes in all. The collection is worth 80,000 gp in whatever item is used for currency at any settlement.  
Roll a d13 and consult te table to determine the subject matter of a randomly chosen book.  
d12 Book  
1 Guide to dramatic drama  
2 Children's illustrated storybook  
3 The Black Turle and you  
4 Druidic torture manual, by druids, for druids  
5 History of opera in the Unknown  
6 Opera number anthology  
7 Musical number anthology  
8 History of musical theatre in the Unknown  
9 Eat me, fey slang (ancient tome)  
10 Hip to the fey, fey slang (relatively new)  
11 Fireproofing your wooden home  
12 Magic without morals  
Teleport destination  
Those who teleport here from area K78 arrive in front of the shrouded painting.  
If your card reading reveals a treasure here, it is resting on the mantelpiece under the portrait of Edelwood.  
If the encounter with the Beast is here, you find him sitting in one of the chairs, reading aloud from a tome of your choice.

K38. False treasury  
Text: 'Resting on the floor of this smoke-filled room is a closed chest surrounded by piles of...items used as currency in the settlements if not anywhere else in the world. The clawed feet and handles on the chest are evidence of great workmanship.  
Attached to the east wall are two torches. The southernmost torch is lit. The other is snuffed and in the hands of a skeleton poised in a frozen fall.'  
The items of currency total 50 gp in Tavern Town money, 100 sp in Adelaide money, and 2000 cp in Pottsfield money. The chest weighs 40 lbs and is unlocked. When opened, it releases a cloud of sleeping gas that fills the room. Any creature in the room must make a DC 18 Con save or be paralyzed for 4 hrs. If all PCs succumb to the gas, they're found by Black Turtle witches whose lair is in area K56. The cultists drag the PCs to area K50 for ritual preparation, leaving them unharmed.  
The skeleton has been hung on taxidermy wire by Bellevue and contains nothing of value.  
Secret doors  
This room is concealed behind two secret doors. The door to the west is set into the back wall of the fireplace (area K37) and can be pulled open from within this room by lifting a simple locking mechanism (connected to the poker in the library). It's possible that a character might open this door inadvertently by lifting the poker in area K37. PCs can otherwise locate the secret door normally, but a successful check doesn't reveal the mechanism with a knock spell or the like.  
The secret door at the northern end of the eastwall is sealed shut. If the torch in the skeleton's hands is relit, the secret door swings inward, revealing area K39 and beyond. Snuffing or removing the torch at any time causes the secret door to close and lock shut, becoming sealed as before. PCs can locate this door normally, but a successful check doesn't reveal the heat-detection opening mechanism. That can be found only by trial and error, or the PCs can bypass the mechanism with a knock spell or the like.

K39. Hall of webs  
Text: 'This ancient, living hall is choked with spider webs broken by single clear path down its center.'  
This hall has an arched ceiling 20 ft overhead, hidden behind thick webbing. At the eastern end are a pair of arched and painted doors. They can be pulled open to reveal area K40 and beyond.  
Most of the hall is full of giant spider webs (see Chap 5 in the DM's Guide). PCs who stray from the unobstructed path through the webs risk becoming stuck.  
Secret doors  
At the west end of the hall are two secret doors.  
The secret door on the west wall can't be opened from this side, except by magic (such as a knock spell). See area K38 for more on this secret door. If the PCs pass through this door coming from area K38, it closes and locks behind them if they don't take measures to prop it open.  
A narrow secret door at the western end of the south wall is hidden behind a mass of webs. If these webs are cleared away, characters can search for the secret door, finding it with a DC 15 Wis (Perception) check. The door can be pulled open to reveal area K31b.

K40. Belfry  
Text: 'You can hear the rain and thunder outside, and the air here is cold and damp. Veils and curtains of webbing fill the room, making it hard to guage its width and depth. A single, narrow path leads to the dark center of the room, where a rope dangles from high above.'  
The rope is attached to a Dark metal bell mounted in a wooden frame carved out from the god tree 50 ft overhead. Pulling the rope or attempting to climb it brings forth a loud, long "GONG." The sound causes 5 giant spiders to drop from their webs and attack. The spiders attack only if they are attacked or the bell is sounded.  
Most of the belfry is filled with giant spider webs (see Chap 5 of the DM's Guide). Characters who blunder into them risk becoming stuck.  
At the west end of the north wall, behind thick webs, is a secret door that opens into area K41.

K41. Memento room  
Text: 'This octagonal vault is free of dust and cobwebs. The domed ceiling forty feet above is painted in black and sparkles with a display of unfamiliar constellations. Barely contained within this vault is a square tower, 20 ft on a side and 30 ft high, with arrow slits on all sides.'  
The domed ceiling is coated with black sap varnish. The stars are bulbs of glowing fungi, each as luminescent as a candle flame. Thanks to the 'night sky,' the vault is dimly lit.  
The adamantine tower is actually a Daern's instant fortress (see Chap 7 of the DM's Guide). Only the Beast knows the command word to alter its shape and size, which can't be done until all the 'treasures' within have been removed.  
Only the Beast can open the two means of entry: a sealed adamantine door set into the base of the tower on the north side, and an adamantine trapdoor on the roof. The arrow slits are 4 in wide and 2 ft tall, and the fortress walls are 3 in thick. Characters who are able to reduce their size or assume gaseous form can enter the tower through these slits.  
Treasure  
The ground floor contains small mountains of trinkets taken off every person who has ever fallen into the Edelwood Slumber and become an Edelwood tree.  
The upper floor of the tower contains an alchemy jug, a helm of brilliance, a +1 rod of the pact keeper, an unlocked wooden coffer with four compartments, each one containing a potion of greater healing, and an enchanted shield that whispers warnings to its bearer, granting +2 bonus to initiative if the bearer isn't incapacitated. These are the more valuable mementos taken from victims.  
If your card reading reveals a treasure here, it is lying atop the coins on the ground floor inside the tower. If your card reading indicates an encounter with the Beast in this area, he's on the bottom floor of the tower, holding up a "dinglehopper" trinket (fork) and breaks into song about wanting to be where the people are (but not being a part of their world).

K42. Bedchamber  
Text: 'The crisp, cool smell of an autumnal morning over fallen leaves wafts from this delicately lit room. A great arched window along the west wall is covered by heavy, fall-hued drapes, their bronze tassels glinting in the light of three candelabras sitting atop small tables. Tall, tallow-gold candles burn with bright, steady light.  
A large bed, canopied by lace curtains, sits with its headboard sunk into the north wall. Lying amid the velvet and satin sheets is a young woman in a nightgown. One of her dainty slippers has fallen to the floor at the bed's foot.'  
Arched double doors lead from this room to the south and east.  
The window is divided into four tall panes of glass, each enclosed by a painted wood framework. The window looks out onto area K46.  
The figure on the bed is Gertruda (NG female any race commoner), the adopted daughter of Adelaide (see Chap 3, area E3). Gertruda is oblivious to any danger to herself-especially from the Beast, whom she has never once seen (and believes is not present in the Elder Edelwood).  
Sheltered by her mother, she was never allowed to leave home as a child. She finally ran away and made her way to the Elder Edelwood, drawn by her childlike wonder. Gertruda has been charmed by the witches of the Black Turtle cult set up in the god tree who plan to use her in a rejuvenation ritual. Though naive before, in her charmed state she is naive to the point of being a danger to herself and others.  
Next to the bed, set into the north wall, is a secret door. It can be pushed open to reveal a dusty hall that ends at a similar secret door in the back of an alcove (see area K45 for details). Gertruda doesn't know this secret door exists.

K43. The bath  
Text: 'Fall-hued curtains hang in archways at both ends of the south wall in this dark room. Between them, in the center of the chamber, stands a large wooden bathing tub under a metal water pump.'  
Both curtained archways lead to area K44.  
If a character uses the pump, glimmering water rushes down into the tub. Bright spots shine like stars in the crystal clear water. The spots are bioluminescent fungal nodes that transmit a poison on contact if a character fails a DC 15 Con save. The fluid isn't water but the gelatin in which the fungal nodes are kept in hibernation. The pressure of the pipeworks causes it to liquefy. It is toxic only if imbibed, requiring a DC 20 Con save to avoid being poisoned.

K44. Closet  
Text: 'The walls here are lined with metal hooks, on which hang identical black cloaks. Two arched windows in the south wall are covered by heavy, fall-hued curtains.'  
34 capes are stored here. The drapes int he archways connect this closet to the adjoining bath chamber (area K43).

K45. Hall of heroes  
Text: 'Dark alcoves have been dug out from the living walls of this long hall. The glass ceiling has broken and fallen in places. Lightning from the dark clouds above sporadically illuminates the hall, lighting the life-sized faces of skeletal statues in the alcoves and casting the shadowy bars of the ceiling's latticework over all.'  
The ten statues that line the corridor are skeletons of past adventurers posed with taxidermy wire by Bellevue. They've been given faces molded from hardened sackcloth.  
The stairs at the west end of the hall descend 40 ft to area K33. An open archway to the east reveals a landing beyond (part of area K20).

K46. Barkside walkway  
Text: 'You stand on a 10-ft-wide walkway that encircles most of the keep below the perpetually autumnal canopy. The drizzle of rain continues, punctuated by the occasional clap of thunder or stroke of lightning. Far below, the tangle of the rooted courtyard shines with slickness.'  
The walkway runs around the front of the upper portion of the Elder Edelwood. Walkways extend from the keep north, south, and east to the outer walls as well. (See the ORIGINAL CoS map 2 for the length and location of the walls.) All the windows leading from this area are shut and locked, but can easily be broken.  
If the PCs loiter on the walkway or atop the walls for more than 5 minutes, they encounter 1d6 swarms of Business Bats with +1 additional swarms every three rounds.

Elder Edelwood, the Spires  
Refer to the ORIGINAL CoS maps 6 through 10 of the castle for areas K47 through K60.

K47. Portrait of the Beast  
Text: 'You come to a dark landing ten feet wide and twenty feet long. A cold draft of wind rushes down the embedded planks spiraling down the north end of the east wall and whistles mournfully through the room before streaming down the stairs to the south.  
A luxiurious but meticulously square pelt covers the floor to the south. Set into the west wall is a painted door with a wooden trapdoor set into the floor in front of it. Hanging on the north wall above the trapdoor is a framed portrait of a cloaked and antlered silhouette before a background of dead-leaved Edelwood trees.'  
The pelt rug is actually a rug of smothering. It attacks creatures that move across it or anyone who tries to move or disturb it. Underneath the rug is a bare stone floor.  
The wooden, square trapdoor is 4 ft on a side and as thick as the floor, with recessed metal hinges and a metal ring built into the side opposite the hinges. Pulling up on the ring opens the door. Below the trapdoor, PCs see one of two things: either a 170-ft-deep shaft (area K31a) or, if the elevator trap has been activated (see area K61), a stone elevator compartment with a secret hatch in its top.  
The portrait depicts the Beast. Its hollow, glowing eyes seem to watch and follow the characters as the explore the area. The picture frame is bolted to the wall and can't be removed without destryoing it. If the PCs attack the rug or picture or attempt to remove either, the guardian portrait (see appendix D), attacks.

K48. Offstair  
Text: 'This spiraling staircase is dark and dusty.'  
The stairway rises from area K47, past area K54.

K49. Lounge  
Text: 'As thunder shakes the tower, the living beams of the ceiling groan over the carved out space beneath them. Three metal lanterns hang by chains from these beams, each casting a dim glow. The curved west wal is fitted with three windows of leaded glass in wooden latticework. A bookcase sits on the east wall between two doors. Massive wooden chairs and overstuffed, patchwork couches are placed about the room. The fabric has faded with age, and the patterns are all but gone. Lounging on one couch with a book in hand is a bewitching fey whose unisex livery, while elegant is worn and faded.'  
The fey is Ensign, the LE mage in charge of keeping the Elder Edelwood clean, the head janitor as it were. Ensign is incredibly lazy, however, and has conjured a single Unseen Servant to maintain the entire god tree. Needless to say, entire floors have gone unswept for centuries.  
If attacked, Ensign casts greater invisibility and flees...only as far as they need for the players to cease antagonizing them and may remain in the room, reading, if the players immediately stop their attack.  
If questioned, Ensign answers all queries with yawns, minimal helpfulness, and maximum vagueness. They want nothing more than to return their book, Goats of the Barking Mountains, Vol. 8. The bookcase contains all the other volumes of the goat soap opera, none of which have value or much use.  
If the PCs take books off the shelf, Ensign simply stares at them and screams. Without end. Until they stop harassing the books. Ensign will continue screaming if they leave the room with a book and remain screaming whether or not they return.  
If the PCs take the book from Ensign's hand, Ensign attacks, continuously screaming, until the fey has the book back in hand. There's a 50% chance that Ensign's screaming will attract one of the Beast's fog-touched fey.

K50. Guest room  
Text: 'A large bed has been embedded into the center of this room, its four corner posts supporting a lace canopy and curtains. Several patchwork divans are placed about the room. There is a banded door in the west wall and a smaller unbanded door in the east wall.'  
There is no danger in this area during the day. BUt if the PCs try to take a short rest here during the night, the rest is interrupted by the arrival of 1d4 Black Turtle witches from area K56. They try to subdue the party with sleep spells. A cultist witch retreats to area K56 if wounded.

K51. Closet  
Text: 'This small pocket of a room carved into the wall reeks of mildew. Its ceiling stands 10-ft-high. Metal hooks line the walls, and a dusty, black velvet robe patterned with turtles hangs from one hook in the center of the south wall.'  
The Black Turtle cultists in area K56 placed it here to help them remember which hook opens the secret trapdoor in the ceiling.  
The trapdoor can be found with a DC 13 Wis (Perception) check. Locating the door doesn't enable someone to discover the opening mechanism. The door has a hidden lock and can be opened by pulling down on the hook from which the black robe hangs. Once it has been found, the door can be opened through the mechanism, using thieves's tools, or a knock spell. It swings down when unlocked.

K52. Smokestack  
Text: 'Jutting from the steeply sloping trunk of the upper Elder Edelwood, a spindly smokestack, five feet in diameter at the top, rises 30 ft. Thick smoke cascades down its length, smelling of burning Edelwood wood and oil, and joins the blanket of fog.'  
The chmeny leads down 60 ft to the blazing fireplace in area K37. A creature that starts its turn in the chimney takes 3 (1d6) fire damage.

K53. Smoky landing  
Text: 'Rain that finds the gaps between the many layers of the autumnal-leaved canopy splashes against the sloped landing at the base of the smokestack. Flashes of lightning illuminate stone mushrooms perched on the peaked ridges of the trunk.'  
If a character tries to traverse the landing: 'The many fallen leaves slide easily underfoot, over the edges of the landing, and float down into the fog-shrouded darkness to join the mulch at the bottom of the chasm.'  
A character must succeed on a DC 15 Dex (Acrobatics) check to traverse the roof. The check succceeds automatically if the character crawls. If the check fails by 5 or more, the character slides off the edge and falls 40 ft to the barkside walkway (area K46).

K54. Familiar room  
Text: 'The low ceiling of this 20-ft-square room presses down on you. Torn and broken patchwork couches lie in heaps, their stuffing haphazardly strewn about. Deep claw marks cover the hardwood furniture embedded into the living floor. From the shadows, tree pairs of green eyes stare back at you.'  
The three cats are familiars of the Black Turtle cult witches in area K56. If they see the PCs, the witches are alerted to their presence.

K55. Element room  
Text: 'Heavy beams support the fibrous ceiling of this large room, the outer wall of which curves to follow the shape of the tower. Dim light filters into the room through the wooden latticework of two leaded glass windows. Several tables stand throughout the room, weighed down by stacks of glass jars and bottles, all bearing labels.'  
The labeled glass containers hold material components for spells and rituals. There are no magic potions among the bottles and jars.  
If a PC opens a window and leaves it open, there's a 50% chance that 1d4 fog-touched fey crawling the trunk of the Elder Edelwood will crawl inside and attack.  
PCs who search the room spot numerous boot prints in the dust, as well as a short trail in the dust on the floor, leading from the northeast corner of the room to the easternmost door. It looks like something heavy was dragged across the floor toward the doorway.  
There's a secret trapdoor in the northeast corner of the floor. Because of the dust trail, the door can be found without a chck. Tapping or knocking three times releases a hidden latch, causing the trapdoor to swing down. Area K51 lies below.

K56. Cauldron  
Characters who stand outside the door can smell a pungent odor coming from within.  
If the Black Turtle cult witches have not been warned that the PCs are coming, the characters can hear them argue about the rejuvenation ritual. They've let it go too long and their aged minds have forgotten the exact procedure. If the characters open the door slightly, they witness the following: 'Green-glowing wisps of steam bubble up from a fat, black cauldron engraved with a turtle pattern in the center of this dark, oppressive room. Surrounding the cauldron are several elderly women with a turtle tattooed on each of their shaved heads. They hunch on tall stools, slapping each others's hands when one tries to add an ingredient into the cauldron. "Frog's breath always goes first, Frog-Breath."'  
If the witches know the PCs are coming: 'Green-glowing wisps of steam bubble up from a fat, black cauldron engraved with a turtle pattern in the center of this dark, oppressive room. Surrounding the cauldron are seven tall wooden stools.'  
The Beast allows the witches of the Black Turtle cult (see appendix D) to set up shop here for any and all arcane rituals the cult members might require-something of an infirmary/provisions. Seven witches are present when the PCs arrive, minus any encountered in area K50. If the witches are expecting the PCs, they cast invisibility spells and stand quietly in the corners of the room, hoping the cauldron draws their prey inside. Although they prefer to attack at range, they can grow magic claws using alter self.  
When the cauldron is touched by someone who also speaks the command word "Hell's shells!", it magically heats any liquid placed inside and remains hot for 3 hrs or until the command word is spoken again within 5ft of the cauldron. Once this property has been used, it can't be activated again until the next dawn.  
Captured cultists will trade information in exchange for their lives and freedom, and can be forced to divulge the command word for activating and deactivating the cauldron. They also know how to open the trapdoor in area K55.  
Treasure  
Each witch carries a potion of healing. There's a 30% chance they flubbed the potionmaking in their senility and made a potion of poison instead.  
Not visible from the entrance is a small table behind the cauldron with an opened spellbook, seemingly on the verge of falling apart. The book is evil and a non-evil creature who touches it or starts its turn with the book in its possession takes 5 (1d10) psychic damage. It contains the following spells:  
1st: burning hands, charm person, detect magic, find familiar, fog cloud, mage armor, protection from evil and good, ray of sickness, sleep, Tasha's hideous laughter, unseen servant, witch bolt  
2nd: alter self, arcane lock, cloud of daggers, darkness, enlarge/reduce, invisibility, knock, misty step

K57. Under-canopy towertop  
Text: 'The 60-ft-diameter towertop lies without railing beneath the fall-leaved canopy. A slender stone bridge, also without railing, spans the gap between this landing and a higher branch at a right angle to the canopy itself in the north.'  
The courtyard is 190 feet below, the top of the keep 80 ft below. A stone railing does enclose the stones of a spiral stair embedded and descending into the tower.

K58. Bridge  
Text: 'A strong wind blows across this slender bridge of stone and masonry set into the trunk of the Elder Edelwood. The bridge is without handholds.'  
The bridge connects areas K20 and K57. The wind isn't strong enough to knock creatures off, but a creature that takes damage while standing on the bridge must succeed on a DC 10 Dex save or fall 60 ft onto the top of the keep.

K59. High tower peak  
If the PCs climb the stairs: 'The spiral staircase finally ends at a 5-ft-wide stone walkway that circles the shaft of this branch. In the center of the tower's highest floor, a 15-ft-diameter hole drops into the heart of the Elder Edelwood. Cold air rushes up the shaft, sending a chill through you. Arrow slits line the walls. The branch opens up to the fall-leaved canopy and rain occasionally finds the gaps in the many leafy layers to splash down.'  
The hole in the floor forms the mouth of an enclosed shaft (area K18a) that descends 450 feet to area K84.  
Ticktock Metalman  
Hiding the shadows of the branches to the canopy is Ticktock Metalman (see appendix D). A character spots Ticktock with a passive Wis (Perception) score that meets or exceeds its Dex (Stealth) check. If Ticktock is spotted: 'Something lurks in the leaves and branches above-a small, spindly man not much larger than a child. A flash of lightning illuminates his perfectly smooth and featureless face, painted like a grinning jack-o'-lantern.'  
Ticktock is a clockwork experiment, the first of his kind, given life by old (ancient) Granny Lee. The metal automaton can't speak or express with his face, so relies on hand gestures and childlike diagrams to communicate. He understands Common but doesn't have the fine motor control to write. Granny Lee believed Ticktock to be a failure so presented him to the Beast as a gift. The Beast accepted and has not thrown him out for the sake of politeness.  
If the PCs show kindness to Ticktock, he accompanies them and tries his best to be helpful and entertaining. He knows the way around the Elder Edelwood and can serve as a miming guide.  
If one or more are mean, Ticktock will attempt to push an offending member off the top of a staircase, roof, bridge, balcony, etc. The target must succeed on a DC 10 Dex save or fall.

K60. Branch in the North  
If the PCs climb the stairs: 'The stairs end at a dark and dreary room with manacles attached to the walls. In the middle of the room is a wooden frame and restraints attached by cables to a metal wheel and crank. A chest sits against the wall, its lid inscribed with the letter B.  
A wooden ladder leads up to a trapdoor in the ceiling. Water occasionally drips through the cracks to a small puddle at the base of the ladder.'  
The ceiling is 9 ft high. The manacles are rusted and can be easily torn from the walls. The trapdoor leads to area K60a.  
The B stands for Bellevue (see area K62) who stashed the chest here for safekeeping.  
Treasure  
The chest is locked and its key is with Bellevue in area K62. It contains 2500 gp in the item of currency in Tavern Town, resting on a silk pillow.  
If your card reading reveals a treasure here, it is inside the chest as well.  
Teleport destination  
Characters who teleport here from area K78 arrive in the middle of the room.  
If your card reading reveals an encounter with the Beast, he's on the ladder with most of his body outside the trapdoor. The PCs see only his long black socks but his whistling fills the room and resonates from the wooden walls.

K60A. North under-canopy  
Text: 'A cold wind greets you below the many whispering, autumnal-leaved layers of the canopy. Rain occasionally finds the gaps between the leaves and splashes down on the sky-reaching branches. Through the constant drum of rain above, you catch snatches of true and mercantile murmuring.'  
PCs who remain on the roof are accosted by 10 swarms of Business Bats, which arrive in 3 rounds. The Bats don't follow if the PCs descend into the tower, instead flying into the arrow slits of the tower in area K59, descending the central shaft (area K18a).  
The courtyard lies 260 ft below and the keep 130 ft below.

Elder Edelwood, Larders of Evil  
Refer to the ORIGINAL CoS map 11 of the castle for areas K61 through K72.

K61. Elevator trap  
See area K31 and the ORIGINAL CoS accompanying Elevator Trap diagram before running this encounter.  
Text: 'This dusty, 10-ft-wide, 30-ft-long corridor has a flat ceiling ten feet overhead. To the south, a web-filed stairway spirals down into darkness. The north end of the hall ends at a wooden door.'  
This hallway contains an elevator trap, triggered when at least 400 lbs of pressure is applied to the 10-ft-sq section of the floor in the center of the hall (marked T on the map), or when the lever in area K31 is raised. A party moving in close formation down the hall will trigger it.  
A PC who searches for traps while crossing the hall and succeeds on a DC 15 Wis (Perception) check detects seams in the floor, walls, and ceiling that suggest the middle section isn't atached to the rest of the hall. A PC who makes a DC 15 Int (Investigation) check discerns that the trap can't be disarmed from this location.  
The middle 10-ft section of the hall is a cleverly hidden elevator compartment, open tot he north and south so it appears part of the passageway. When the trap is sprung, two metal portcullises drop from the ceiling at lightning speed to seal off the compartment, trapping within the triggering creatures.  
An instant later, the closed-off elevator is propelled up the western half of a 20-ft-wide, 170-ft-tall shaft (area K31a) to the sound of the Beast humming a smooth and jazzy tune. This is a harmless magic effect similar to prestidigitation, but it blares loud enough to cover the sounds of turning gears and rattling chains.  
Magic sleep gas fills the compartment as it rises, and a creature trapped inside must succeed on a DC 15 Con save or fall unconscious.  
As the elevator rises, a 10-ft cube of granite suspended from heavy chains descends in the eastern half of the shaft, acting as a counterweight. The massive block lands gently at the bottom of the shaft, filling the previously open 10-ft-by-10-ft space adjacent to where the elevator stood. The block weighs thousands of tons and pulverizes anything in the space where it comes to rest.  
Once the elevator starts rising, its portcullises are locked in place and can't be lifted. The walls of the shaft are nearly flush with the elevator compartment; only a few inches of space exist between the portcullises and the shaft walls.  
All creatures in the elevator (including the unconscious ones) must roll initiative. The compartment takes 1 round to reach the top of the shaft, stopping just under area K47. Each creature has one turn to act before the compartment stops, the initiative determining the order. Conscious party members can take whatever actions they like. They might search for a way out, wake sleeping party members, cast spells, or take other actions. Unconscious ones can do nothing.  
A character who uses an action to search the ceiling finds a secret trapdoor with a DC Wis (Perception) check. It opens downward.  
Any creature on top of the elevator when it reaches the top of the shaft must make a successful DC 15 Dex save to avoid being crushed against the ceiling of the shaft. The character takes 44 (8d10) bludgeoning damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one. When the elevator stops, its portcullises retract.  
The elevator remains at the top of the shaft until the lever in area K31 is moved to the 'down' position. When that happens, the trap resets in 1 round: portcullises down, compartment descends to its place, stone block rises to the top of the shaft. When the elevator reaches the bottom, its portcullises rise again.  
Development  
The music of the elevator can be heard throughout the Elder Edelwood. Characters trapped or asleep in the elevator are easy prey from the Beast, who can reach them by the trapdoor in area K47.

K62. Service hall  
Text: 'This hall stands in palpable silence. Heavy beams have been added to support the living but sagging, 10-ft-high ceilings. Fog clings to the floor, obscuring everything that lies less than three feet above it. A giant shadow lurches across the ceiling as a dark figure stalks down the corridor in your direction.'  
The figure is Bellevue, a Pumpkin-Eater (see appendix D) formerly from around Pottsfield, and the Beast's interior decorator. The poised skeletons are his piece de resistance. He stands 7ft tall with the body of a man but the head and neck of a wolf. He has the Keen Hearing and Smell feature.  
The light in the hall comes from a lantern on the floor behind Bellevue. If the PCs have their own light, he sees them, but will not attack first. He will instead hold out his fingers in a frame and picture the best way to arrange their impending skeletons.  
He wears a loop of twine around his neck, hanging from which is an iron key and a decorative wooden pendant fitted with a varnished eyeball, a gift from the Black Turtle cultists after he arranged a skeleton for them in the Black Turtle room. The cult witches enchanted the pendant as a hag eye used for surveillance. Bellevue refuses to wear a shirt while wearing a pendant despite the cold drafts in the mistaken belief that such clothing would impair the pendant's magic. (The PCs may point out that such pendant could be worn OVER a shirt.)  
Bellevue is obviously not the sharpest tool in the shed. Though often obtuse, he will realize when he shouldn't give information away and instead laugh with an expression of "Good one!" or the like.  
He good-naturedly encourages the PCs to retire to their "room in the tower" (area K49). If the PCs don't know what he's talking about, Bellevue offers to take them. If they follow him, he tells them to stay close as he leads them through the south door to area K61 and sets off the elevator trap...with himself inside.  
If Bellevue is conscious at the top, he opens the trapdoor to area K47 and either leads the characters to area K49 or carries them over his shoulders like potato sacks. After assuring the conscious ones that the Beast will come shortly, he makes his way to the downstairs kitchen (area K65).  
If the PCs don't go to their room, Bellevue shrugs, sighs, and returns to the work of preparing his dinner in area K65. If the PCs take his key, he tries to convince them to give it back while trying to avoid saying anything about it. A DC 15 Cha (Persuasion) check will make him divulge the key's purpose, the location of the chest, and its contents.  
If he isn't being threatened, Bellevue will tell poor jokes at inopportune moments and dance (surprisingly well) whenever he hears any music. His jokes give clues of everything he refuses to divulge in speech. He loves to hear jokes in return and will laugh at anything, especially his own.  
Stairs at the east end of the north wall lead up to area K23.  
Along the east wall is a rusted by sturdy iron portcullis that bars the way to area K63. (If the PCs peer through the portcullis, give them the text for area K63.) The portcullis bars are 1 in thick and spaced 4 in apart. The portcullis can be lifted with a DC 20 Str check or if the PCs convince Bellevue to do it.  
The double doors at the west end are made of heavy, painted planks. They open to area K67.

K63. Parched fountain  
Text: 'Arched frames of stone reinforce the low, wet ceiling of this cellar. A massive stone pool and fountain has been set into the floor. Great wooden casks line the walls, their spigots over the rim of the cracked and empty pool. A swarm of rats sleep in the tiered basins of the fountain. They crack a lethargic eye at your sudden arrival.'  
The rats are harmless pets of Bellevue (see are K62) who's been trying to train them as spies and messengers. They can come and go on command but he's failed to find a way to understand their report. PCs who search the room find a crack at the southern end of the west wall. It's half an inch wide, 5 in tall, and 12 in deep; it leads to area K18.  
Casks  
Each of the 12, barrelsome caks rests on its rounded side in a heavy wooden brace. Three stand against the north wall, six against the east, and three against the south.  
Northern casks-all three contain glowing fungi in crystal clear hibernation gelatin that will sludge out from the spigots.  
Eastern casks-five are rotted and empty, but the interior of the sixth is lined with a patch of yellow mold (see Chap 5 in the DM's Guide). A character who inspects the cask closely with a DC 13 Wis (Perception) check sees yellow mold in the cracks between the planks of the cask. If opened, the yellow mold releases a cloud of spores.  
Southern casks-two are rotted and empty. The middle is home to a black pudding that bursts or oozes forth if the cask is opened.  
If your card reading reveals a treasure, it's inside one of the empty casks.

K64. Featureless stair  
Text: 'The long, hollow sigh of the wind breathes a semblance of whistling life into this otherwise featureless staircase.'  
The stairway starts at area K68 and goes up past area K13 to area K46.

K65. Kitchen  
Text: 'A horrible odor of decay fills this steaming hot room. A huge pot bubbles over a blazing fire pit in the center of the room, its green, muddy contents churning. The far wall is lined with pegs, hanging from which are numerous and oversized cooking implements-some of which seem more suited to torture than food preparation.'  
If a PC looks into the pot, three flying swords shoot out of the pot and attack. Bellevue received this 'recipe' that enchants swords from the senile Black Turtle witches, all of them believing it is for a hearty stew. If Bellevue is with the party, he grabs kitchen implements and tries to beat the swords back into the pot, claiming the stew is simply not ready yet and ask for the characters's help in finding the pot's lid.  
The swords will attack the characters, pursuing those who run, until destroyed or driven back into the pot and trapped under the heavy lid.

K66. Bellevue's room  
Text: 'This 20-ft-sq room is filled wall to wall with childlike clutter. A long, sagging bed sits to one side under a huge faded tapestry depicting a ring of druids in mid-shapeshifting silhouette dancing around a heavy-laden tree. Dusty lanterns sit in various places, and garishly hued are draped haphazardly around the room. Long pairs of pants are piled here and there while trinkets hang from a wooden model of the Elder Edelwood.'  
Bellevue (see area K62) uses this room as his lair. There's nothing of value here. On the bottom of the model it's maker, Mr. Toymaker, has inscribed, "No fun for you!"  
If Bellevue is with the party, he invites them to make themselves comfortable. If they touch the toy model, he believes they want to play and will pick up on of the trinkets off the Elder Edelwood and play as the Beast. The PCs may gather information about the Beast and his past as Edelwood or information about the Elder Edelwood if they play along. Although Bellevue will have the Beast speak of Bellevue himself only with exaggerated praise.

K67. Opera chamber  
This room is descecrated ground (see Chap 5 in the DM's Guide).  
Text: 'A sea of stuffed chairs surround a long wooden platform at the center of the room. Skeletons pose in the chairs in various sophisticated affectations, some with fans, glasses, and other accoutrements, all held in place by taxidermy wires.  
The walls and twenty-foot-high vaulted ceiling are upholstered in rich red soundproofing. Bones have been sewn into the fabric in rain-like streams to the dark wood of the floor. The lines of bones rain down as delicate chains from a chandelier, also made of bones, hanging above the long stage.  
The doors to the north and south are sheathed in the bone-lined soundproofing, but the double doors in the center are simply painted to match the rich red fabric.'  
Bellevue created this work of art from the bones piled in the Elder Edelwood over the centuries of adventurers who met a happier fate than the Edelwood Slumber. He's extremely proud of his work and will happily give the PCs a tour of the room, inviting them to try the seats, the stage, and admire all.  
If your card reading reveals a treasure, it's hanging from the delicate bone chains of the chandelier.  
If there's an encounter with the Beast, he's onstage, singing operatically with his back to the characters. He turns toward them only once all have passed through the door.

K68. Guards's run  
Text: 'This 10-ft-wide arched corridor is cold and moist. The cold seems to emanate from an open archway in the west wall.'  
The archway leads to K69. A door at the north end of the hall opens into area K67. To the south, the hallway ends at the foot of a staircase (area K64) that spirals upward.

K69. Guards's quarters  
Text: 'Sickly yellow lichen covers the ceiling of this cold, damp, 10-ft-wide passage running east and west. Opening off both sides of the passage are 10-ft-square alcoves that contain rotting cots and lumpy rags. A deathly silence fills the hall.'  
The yellow lichen is harmless. When one or more characters reach the midpoint of the hall, ten fog-touched fey rise up from under the raggedy blankets in the alcoves. They use their surprise round to sit up and leave the beds to attack.  
If Bellevue is with the party, he is genuinely surprised by the fog-touched fey whom he believes are "creepy" (because their bones don't move correctly) and will refuse to look at, much less help the party.

K70. Kingsmen hall  
Text: 'Two neat rows of centaur skeletons face each other, 10 in all. The pose with arms outstreched and armaments crossing with just enough room to pass beneath.  
Two doors stand opposite one another in this 30-ft-sq room, one in the center of the north wall and the other south. A dark archway leads out the through the east wall.'  
Bellevue arranged the centaur skeletons with taxidermy wire. Removing a shield or spear from their skeletal hands requires a DC 10 Str check.

K71. Druid quarters  
Text: 'This dark passage runs for 20 ft, connecting an archway to the west wall with the planks of an ascending staircase to the east. Six large, but shallow indents have been worn into the living floor. Black sap smeared along the walls depicts the forest of Edelwood trees except that all the roots are shown together as though growing from and into a single root network.'  
Beyond the archway to the west is area K70. The staircase (area K20a) that goes up along the east wall leads to area K20.  
If Bellevue is with the party, he suddenly recalls that there are six druids here and encourages the party to leave out the way they came as fast as possible (within 3 rounds). Druids boil bones down to the gelatin base they use to preserve the poisonous, glowing fungi.  
If one or more PCs reach the midpoint of the room, six druids shapeshift down from the ceiling where they hid as vermin and attack.

K72. Steward's office  
Text: 'This shadowy room is in perfect, meticulous order. A great desk set into the floor stands here with its wooden chair centered precisely. An inkwell and quill have been set carefully beside a thick ledger protected by a waterproof, leather cover.'  
If he has not been defeated elsewhere, Steward the steward (see appendix D) is here. The automaton is hiding under and behind the desk, waiting for the shadow demon in this room to either kill or be killed by the PCs. The shadow demon was conjured by the Black Turtle cultists, whom Steward doesn't particularly like with their penchant for clutter, so he pretends it doesn't exist. He will continue pretending even if the characters discover him in the midst of their battle.  
The characters don't notice the shadow demon unless their passive Wis (Perception) score meets or exceeds the demon's Dex (Stealth) check.  
A secret door is set into the north end of the west wall (which Bellevue is not aware of). It can be pulled open to reveal a dusty, web-choked staircase of ancient, worn stone (area K79) that descends into darkness.  
Steward will attack the PCs only if they attack first. Otherwise, he will guide them to the Beast whether they are ready or not. Steward and Bellevue do not get along, as Steward constantly nags Bellevue about his penchant for clutter and the asymmetry of his artwork. If Bellevue is with the party, he will leave if Steward joins them unless convinced to stay with a DC 15 Cha (Persuasion) check. He will, however, be childishly sulky about it and silently echo everything Steward says with exaggerated miming.

Elder Edelwood, Root Tangle  
Refer to the ORIGINAL CoS map 12 of the castle for areas K73 through K88.

K73. Dungeon hall  
The following assumes the characters arrive by way of the staircase to the east (area K21). Adjust as needed if the characters enter this hall from another direction.  
Text: 'The stairs descend into opalescent black oil that fills an arched hallway before you. The air above its slick, glassy surface smells of cold Edelwood smoke. Twenty feet ahead, arched doorways lead downward from each side of the hallway. In each arched doorway, a wooden door splashed bright black stands closed and partially submerged. You hear a weak cry for help beyond the south door.'  
The oil is 3 ft deep in the hallway of root and stone of the Thronestone. The steps on both sides of the hallway descend another 2 feet before ending at the doors to the north and south.  
The floor beneath the water isn't as solid as one might expect. There's a safe path around several weight-sensitive trapdoors (see Traps in the ORIGINAL CoS AreaK37 diagram), but the oil makes it impossible to see where the trapdoors are. For every 10 lbs of weight on a trapdoor, there is a 5% chance it will open. The 10-ft-deep pit under each trapdoor contains a magic teleport trap that activates as soon as the trapdoor opens. Any Medium or smaller creature on a trapdoor when it opens plunges into the pit and is teleported to a cell in either K74 or K75, as the ORIGINAL CoS diagram indicates.  
When a character sets off a trap, other characters in the hall see an explosion of air and oil fly up around the triggering character (air that was trapped in the pit is released when the door opens). The triggering character falls from sight. An instant later, the trapdoor closes, leaving only a slowly dissipating swirl in the oil. It doesn't open again until 24 hrs have passed, at which point its teleport trap is recharched.  
Characters who fall victim to the teleport traps are transported to dungeon cells closed with iron bars and under 5 ft of oil (areas K74 and K75).  
If characters set fire to the oil, the entire dungeon hall goes up in flames that will burn for 24 hours but are contained to the hall itself by the Beast's magical and mundane fireproofing measures. After the 24-hr fire, all the original oil is gone, but the hallway begins to fill again from streams of oil that fall in sheets from the seams of the ceiling. The hallway returns to its original state after an hour pouring oil.

K74. North Dungeon  
The fireproofed door connecting this hall to area K73 is submerged in 5 ft of oil and requires a DC 10 Str (Athletics) check to open.  
Text: 'A mold-covered ceiling of Thronestone and Elder Edelwood root hangs three feet above the still, black oil that fills this dungeon corridor. The oil is five feet deep. 10-ft-square cells, their entrances blocked by metal bars, line both sides of the hall.'  
The corridor is 40 ft long. Branching off it are 8 cells, four along each wall.  
A hinged door made up of 1-in-thick bars spaced 4in apart, closes off each cell. Each door is fittered with an metal lock. A character using thieve's tools can try to pick a lock, which requires 1 min and a successful DC 20 Dex check. The check is made with disadvantage if the PC is trying to pick the lock from inside the cell. If the check fails, the PC can try again.  
A character can force open a barred door by using an action and succeeding on a DC 25 Str check.  
The Beast visits the dungeon occasionally to see whether anybody has become trapped recently. He's always in mist form, however, to avoid setting himself on fire.

K74A. Forgotten treasure  
This cell is linked to a teleport trap in area K73. Characters who enter the cell can feel the item used as currency shifting beneath their feet.  
Scattered across the floor are 3000 gp's worth of currency item from Tavern Town. If the item is small, the PC can scoop up 100 of them every minute.

K74B. Forgotten treasure  
Text: 'The door hangs slightly open.'  
PCs who enter this cell can feel the item used as currencey shifting beneath their feet.  
Scattered across the floor are 300 pp's worth of currency item from Adelaide. If the item is small, the PC can scoop up 100 of them every minute.

K74C. Ritual corpse  
Text: 'An oil-slicked rope tied around the cell bars dips into the glassy black.'  
This cell is linked to a teleport trap in area K73. Characters who enter the cell can feel a fleshy mass under their feet. Pulling up the rope yields a victim of the evil druids's ritual torture and sacrifice feet-first. A thorough search of the corpse reveals an unopened potion of heroism inside them.

K74D. Empty cell  
It contains nothing of interest.

K74E. End of the ride  
This cell is linked to a teleport trap in area K73.  
A secret door is 5 feet up from the floor on the north wall of this cell. The secret door can't be opened from this side without the use of a knock spell or similar magic. Behind the secret door is a chute of polished black marble that slants upward (area K82).

K74F. Empty cell  
It contains nothing of interest.

K74G. Gray ooze  
Clinging to the floor of this cell is a gray ooze that attacks anything that enters. While under the oil, the ooze is effectively invisible. It appears black if it surfaces.

K74H. Lost sword  
This cell is linked to a teleport trap in area K73. Characters who enter can feel something metallic underfoot. It is a sentient, lawful good, +1 shortsword (Int 11, Wis 13, Cha 13). It has hearing and normal vision out to a range of 120 ft. It communicates by transmitting emotion to its wielder.  
Its purpose is to fight evil. It has the following properties:  
-(Once removed of oil) The sword sheds bright light in a 15-ft radius and dim light for an additional 15 ft. Only be destroying the sword can this light be extinguished.  
-A LG creature can attune itself to the sword in 1 min.  
-While attuned, the wielder can use the sword to cast crusader's mantle. Once used, the sword can't cast this spell until the next dawn.

K75. South dungeon  
The fireproofed door connecting this hall to area K73 is submerged in 5 ft of oil and requires a DC 10 Str (Athletics) check to open.  
Text: 'A mold-covered ceiling of Thronestone and Elder Edelwood root hangs three feet above the still, black oil that fills this dungeon corridor. The oil is five feet deep. 10-ft-square cells, their entrances blocked by metal bars, line both sides of the hall. From one of the cells, you hear a gruff croak, "Who's there?"'  
The corridor is 40 ft long. Branching off it are 8 cells, 4 along each wall. The voice comes from one of the southernmost (area K75a).

K75A. Prisoner  
Text: 'A muscular, anthropomorphic frog clutches the bars of their cell. Much like their body, their clothes are shredded but also soaked in oil from head to toe.'  
The prisoner is Frogfolk Emil, one of the cursed, shapeshifting fey. He has 72 hit points. Unless the PCs are accompanied by Frogfolk Julie, he claims to be a resident of Tavern Town who was chased by dire wolves to the Elder Edelwood. He begs them to rescue them, offering his help in exchange.  
In truth, Frogfolk Emil caused a schism in his Frogfolk colony (see Chap 15), so Frogfolk George gave him up to the Beast.  
The oily imprisonment has weakened his will. If the PCs don't claim to be allies of his wife, Frogfolk Julie, or accompanied by Frogfolk Julie (see Chap 15, area Z7), Frogfolk Emil will succumb to Edelwood Slumber in 24 hrs. Otherwise, he will do his best to help the PCs to escape the Elder Edelwood to reunite with her.

K75B. Forgotten treasure  
Characters who enter the cell can feel the item used as currency shifting beneath their feet.  
Scattered across the floor are 2100 gp's worth of currency item from Tavern Town. If the item is small, the PC can scoop up 100 of them every minute.

K75C. Empty cell  
It contains nothing of interest.

K75D. Ritual corpse  
Text: 'An oil-slicked rope tied around the cell bars dips into the glassy black.'  
This cell is linked to a teleport trap in area K73. Characters who enter the cell can feel a fleshy mass under their feet. Pulling up the rope yields a victim of the evil druids's ritual torture and sacrifice feet-first. A thorough search of the corpse reveals an unopened potion of heroism inside them.

K75F. Ritual corpse  
Text: 'An oil-slicked rope tied around the cell bars dips into the glassy black.'  
Characters who enter the cell can feel a fleshy mass under their feet. Pulling up the rope yields a victim of the evil druids's ritual torture and sacrifice feet-first. A thorough search of the corpse reveals an unopened potion of heroism inside them.

K75G. Forgotten treasure  
PCs who enter this cell can feel the item used as currencey shifting beneath their feet.  
Scattered across the floor are 450 pp's worth of currency item from Adelaide. If the item is small, the PC can scoop up 100 of them every minute.

K75H. Empty cell  
It contains nothing of interest.

K76. Laboratory  
Text: 'Dark, low shapes thrust up out of the still, black oil that fills this 50-ft-square room, the ceiling of which is festooned with hanging chains that look like thick, black web strands. A balcony set into the north wall overlooks the room and has a large stone table atop it, with a tapestry depicting a massive, heavy-laden tree behind it.'  
The ceiling is 17 ft above the surface of the oil, which is 3 ft deep. The balcony to the north stands 7 ft above the oil's surface, 10 ft above the floor.  
If the characters approach the dark, low shapes: 'The dark shapes are black-stained racks, oil-slicked implements of torture on hooks, and fireproofed tables and stools piled in a corner.'  
As soon as one or more PCs move more than 10 feet into the room, six giant centipedes uncurl from the shadowed ceiling to attack.  
This room was once the laboratory of the inventors, innovators, engineers, and artisans who helped the caretaker transform his abandoned body into the keep of the Elder Edelwood. Once they completed the Elder Edelwood, the Beast rewarded them with eternal life tied to the life of the Elder Edelwood by turning them into Edelgaunts (see stats below). But doing so near-vegetized their brains, so they now spend most of their time sleeping in their respective roots of the Elder Edelwood. The Beast, no longer interested in innovation now that his innovators were violent vegetables, turned the laboratory over to the evil druids to serve their ritual or other purposes.

K77. Sacrificial balcony  
Text: 'A large stone table rests on this balcony. Bloodstained grooves carved into its surface circle and twine in an endless knot. Behind the table hangs a sackcloth tapestry depicting a tree bearing black orbs of fruit, 30-ft-long. The ceiling here is 10 feet high.'  
The room is desecrated ground and continues behind the curtain an additonal 10 ft to a wall that has a door in its center.

K78. Brazen room  
Text: 'This room is thirty feet square, rising to a 20-ft-tall flat ceiling. A stone brazier burns fiercely in the center of the room, but its tall white flames produce no heat. The rim of the brazier is carved with 7 cup-shaped indentations spaced evenly around the circumference. Within each indentation is a spherical globe of fungi the size of an eyeball. No two globes are the same color.  
Overhead, a wood-framed hourglass as tall and wide as a direwolf hangs ten feet above the brazier, suspended by thick black chains. All the sand is stuck in the upper portion of the hourglass, seemingly unable to run down into the bottom. Written in glowing script on the base of the hourglass is a verse in Common.  
Two statues draped in thick black chains stand in deep alcoves, possibly facing one another. The chains obscure all but the vaguest outline of a humanoid form. The brazier sits between them.'  
The two statues are chain devils bound to the hourglass by those who made it for the caretaker. They cannot level the room and attack only under specific conditions (see Development below).  
The hourglass has AC 12, 20 hit points, immunity to poison and psychic damage, and vulnerability to thunder damage. If reduced to 0 hit points, the glass shatters, causing the sand within to fall to the floor. The magic writing on the base reads:  
Cast a fungus into the fire;  
Violet leads to the mountain spire  
Orange to the god tree's peak  
Red if lore is what you seek  
Green to where the coffins rest  
Indigo to the hilltop crest  
Blue to wintrous magic sealed  
Yellow to whence the master we peeled  
The brazier's flame is magical and sheds no warmth. A successful dispel magic (DC 16) extinguishes the flame for 1 hr. The fire is permanently extinguished if the brazier is destroyed. The brazier has AC 17, 25 hit points, immunity to poison and psychic damage, and resistance to all other damage.  
The globes set in the rim are colored red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Tossing one in causes the flame to change from white to the color of the fungi, and the sand begins falling through the hourglass. Any creature that touches the flame is teleported to a location determined by color:  
Color Teleports to...  
Red Library (area K37)  
Orange Branch in the north (area K60)  
Yellow The Beast's hole (area K86)  
Green Coffin maker's shop (Chap 5, area N6F)  
Blue Winter Place (Chap 13, area X42)  
Indigo Hill of the Pumpkin Eaters (Chap 8, area S17)  
Violet Winter Road (Chap 9, area T4)  
After 5 rounds, the sand runs out, and the color of the flame returns to white. When the flame does so, the sand instantly reappears in the top part of the hourglass (provided it is intact), and the globe cast into the fire is teleported back to the brazier's rim.  
Development  
If the brazier, the hourglass, or the chain devils are attacked, or if a character tries to remove the chains from a chain devil, the doors of the room magically slam shut and lock (unless they are being held or wedged open), and the chain devils attack. On the first round, the chain devils animate the chains holding the hourglass, their long loops and ends. When there are no creatures left to fight in the room (either because they've teleported, fled the room, or managed to escape the devils's senses, the chain devils return to their alcoves, and the doors unlock. Forcing open a locked door requires a successful DC 25 Str (Athletics) check. Each door has AC 15, 25 hit points, and immunity to poison and psychic damage.

K79. Western stair  
Text: 'This staircase of ancient stone is worn smooth. Thick dust covers its steps, and cobwebs choke the passage.'  
The stairs rise at a 45-degree angle for a distance of 40 ft horizontally, leading to a 10-ft-square stone landing buried in the root of the god tree (see below). A second set of stairs continues upward to the east at a similar angle for a distance of 30 ft horizontally, ending at a secret door that opens into area K72.  
Landing  
Inscribed on the landing, hidden under years of dust, is a glyph of warding. If the characters brush away the dust, someone can spot the glyph with a DC 15 Int (Investigation) check.  
The glyph triggers the first time a living creature passes over it. Triggering it activates a major image spell, conjuring an illusion of the Beast that appears either halfway up the stairs leading to area K72 or halfway down the stairs leading to area K78, so that the Beast appears in front of the triggering character.  
When the image appears: 'A mist cloys the stairway with a heavy perfume of burning wood and oil. The Beast steps out from the fog, the lights of his hollow eyes growing colored rings in the dark silhouette of his antlered head. "Sorry, dear guests, but you've worn out your welcome." Though you cannot see his mouth in the dark shadows of his body, you hear the smile in his voice. "I think it's time for a deal-leave or die."'  
Have the PCs roll initiative. Any attack or spell that hits the image passes through, revealing the illusion. On an initiative count 0, the image dissipates in a cloud of fog, all of which vanishes as though teleported. The glyph disappears.

K80. Center stair  
If the characters enter this area through the door at the bottom of the stairs: 'The door creaks open to reveal a stone staircase between walls of rough masonry and Elder Edelwood root. There is a little dust on the steps, but light fog tumbles down the steps from above.'  
If the characters enter at the top of the staircase: 'The rough-hewn corridor ends at a stone staircase that descends to the south. Flanked by walls of masonry and Elder Edelwood root relatively free of dust, these stairs descend before ending at a lonely door.'  
The stairs slope at a 45-degree angle for a distance of 20 ft horizontally, connecting areas K78 and K81.

K81. Tunnel  
Text: 'This tunnel is cut into the Thronestone and the roots of the Elder Edelwood. Its surface is slick, and its ceiling is barely 6 ft high. A lingering fog limits visibility to a few feet.'  
The tunnel is 120 ft long, with a stone door at its eastern end.  
Near the midpoint of the tunnel is a trapdoor hidden under a layer of fog. Characters can't spot the trapdoor passively, but an active search accompanied by a DC 20 Wis (Perception) check locates it. Unless the trapdoor is fastened shut, it opens when 100 lbs of weight or more is placed on it. When the trapdoor opens, everyone who is standing on it slides into the marble chute below (area K82). The trapdoor then resets.

K82. Marble slide  
If one or more characters fall through the trapdoor in area K81: 'You fall into a chute of polished black marble and slide into the darkness.'  
The chute plunges from the trapdoor in area K81 through a one-way secret door into an oil-flooded cell (area K74e). Characters who slide all the way to the bottom are deposited in the cell, but take no damage. The slide contains no handholds and is slicked with oil, making ascent impossible without magic.

K83. Spiral stair  
Text: 'Behind the door lies a dark spiral staircase.'  
The staircase starts a area K78, climbs to a landing at area K83a, and continues upward to area K37.

K83A. Spiral stair landing  
An extension of area K83 is shown on the ORIGINAL CoS map 11.  
Text: 'This forty-ft-long corridor connects to two spiral stairways, one leading up and the other descending into the Thronestone and rootbed of the god tree. Hanging from an iron rod bolted to the eastern wall is a dusty, 10-ft-square tapestry depicting figures in silhouette surrounding a Beast-shaped hole at the center of a massive, endless tangle of roots. A gaunt hand outlined in white sitches reaches out from the dark hollow.'  
The stairs at the north end of the west wall descend to a door leading to area K78. The stairs at the south end of the westwall lead up, ending at a door that opens into area K37.

STAT ALTERATIONS/ADDITIONS

Edelgaunt

Traits  
Regeneration: The edelgaunt regains 10 hit points at the start of its turn. If the edelgaunt takes acid or fire damage, this trait doesn't function at the start of the edelgaunt's next turn. The edelgaunt dies only if it starts its turn with 0 hit points and doesn't Regenerate.  
Variant: Loathsome Limbs: Whenever the edelgaunt takes at least 15 slashing damage at one time, roll a d20 to determine what else happens to it:  
1-10: Nothing else happens.  
11-14: One leg is severed from the edelgaunt if it has any legs left.  
15- 18: One arm is severed from the edelgaunt if it has any arms left.  
19-20: The edelgaunt is decapitated, but the edelgaunt dies only if it can't Regenerate. If it dies, so does the severed head.  
If the edelgaunt finishes a short or Long Rest without reattaching a severed limb or head, the part regrows. At that point, the severed part dies. Until then, a severed part acts on the edelgaunt's initiative and has its own action and Movement. A severed part has AC 13, 10 hit points, and the edelgaunt's Regeneration trait.  
A severed leg is unable to Attack and has a speed of 5 feet.  
A severed arm has a speed of 5 feet and can make one claw Attack on its turn, with disadvantage on the Attack roll unless the edelgaunt can see the arm and its target. Each time the edelgaunt loses an arm, it loses a claw Attack.  
If its head is severed, the edelgaunt loses its bite Attack and its body is Blinded unless the head can see it. The severed head has a speed of 0 feet. It can make a bite Attack but only against a target in its space.  
The edelgaunt's speed is halved if it's missing a leg. If it loses both legs, it falls prone. If it has both arms, it can crawl. With only one arm, it can still crawl, but its speed is halved. With no arms or legs, its speed is 0, and it can't benefit from bonuses to speed.  
Actions  
Multiattack: The edelgaunt makes three attacks: one with its bite and two with its claws. If both claw attacks hit a Medium or smaller target, the target is Grappled (escape DC 14), and the edelgaunt uses its Engulf on it.  
Bite: Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) piercing damage.  
Claw: Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) slashing damage.  
Engulf: The edelgaunt engulfs a Medium or smaller creature Grappled by it. The engulfed target is Blinded, Restrained, and unable to breathe, and it must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw at the start of each of the mound's turns or take 13 (2d8 + 4) bludgeoning damage. If the edelgaunt moves, the engulfed target moves with it. The edelgaunt can have only one creature engulfed at a time.  
Attributes  
Size Large  
Type Plant  
Alignment Unaligned  
AC 15 (Natural Armor)  
HP 136 (16d10+48)  
Speed 20 ft., swim 20 ft.  
STR 18  
DEX 8  
CON 16  
INT 5  
WIS 10  
CHA 5  
Senses Blindsight 60 Ft. (Blind Beyond This Radius)  
Passive Perception 10  
Skills Stealth +2  
Condition Immunities Blinded, Deafened, Exhaustion  
Challenge Rating 5  
Roll 0 1d20 + 7 2d8+4

Elder Edelwood, Root Tangle (Pre-crypts)

K84. Root beds  
Text: 'Buried deep in the Thronestone lies the massive heart tangle of the god tree's roots. Arched stone ceilings are supported by wide, hollowed roots still strong enough to serve as living pillars. Cobwebs hang limp in the musty air. A thick fog clings to the floor, blackened by the heady remnant of oil refined from Edelwood sap.'  
The root beds fill an area roughtly 110 ft east to west by 180 ft north to south. The oil doesn't slick the ground because its mixed with sticky Business Bat guano. It does, however, overpower the guano odor with that of its cloying scent of burning.  
The heart tangle is made up of 10-ft-sq wide arched walkways running between 10-ft-sq root beds, which serve as pillars that support the 20-ft-high ceiling. The area has five means of entry and exit:  
-The door adjacent to Bed 1 (connecting with area K81)  
-A barred archway to the north (connecting with area K85)  
-A barred archway to the south (connecting with area K86 but warded by teleport traps)  
-A barred archway to the east (connecting with area K87)  
-The high tower stair (area K18) or the shaft (area K18a) to the west  
Each root bed is sealed with a chiseled door measuring 3 ft wide, 5 ft tall, and 3 in thick. Removing or resetting a door requires an action and a successful DC 15 Str check.  
Each root bed houses the Edelgaunt sleeper or remains of the person or persons whose epitaph is inscribed on the front of the bark. If one of the Beast's faithful died before the Edelgaunt conversion could finish or even begin, they did not become an Edelgaunt.  
Unless noted otherwise, each root bed contains a 3-ft-by-6-ft rectangular cot of black marble, 3 ft high, with a sleeping Edelgaunt lying atop it.  
The root beds are home to tens of thousands of Business Bats. The Bats hang here during daytime hours and fly out in the evning through the high tower's central shaft (area K18a) to hunt at night.  
If one or more Bats within a 10-ft-sq on the map are attacked or caught in the area of a harmful spell, 2d4 swarms of Bats wake up and form in that area to attack. No more swarms can be formed in that square until the next dawn.  
An Edelgaunt is a massive creature that fills the entire marble cot with what appears to be a sharp tangle of roots but is in fact their resting body. They assume a wicker-like humanoid form, woody and full of black hollows, upon exiting the root bed. They move in perfect, unnatural silence as long as they are on Elder Edelwood terrain, the god tree also granting them regeneration.  
If an Edelgaunt is set on fire in the oil-slicked root bed, there is a 50% chance that the fire will catch on the oil in a 5-ft radius of the Edelgaunt, wherever it ends its move action while on fire. The root beds are fireproofed, but the oil and guano is not.  
Teleport traps  
Invisible teleport traps are located between root beds 37 and 38, between 37 and the wall south of it, and between 38 and the wall south of it. The traps can't be perceived except with a detect magic spell, which reveals an aura of conjuration magic in the trapped areas. Although the traps can't be disarmed, a successful dispel magic (DC 16) suppresses a trap's magic for 1 min, allowing characters to move safely through its area. A trap is also suppressed while wholly or partly in the area of an antimagic field.  
These teleport traps form a protective ring around the entrance to the hole of the Beast (area 86). Any creature that enters one of these 10-ft-square spaces is instantly teleported away to a reserved root bed: 27, 32, or 36.

Elder Edelwood, Root Tangle (Crypts)

1\. In loving memory of those whom I could not make my Edelgaunts  
The door connects not with a bed, but with a hewn tunnel of stone (area K81).

2\. Art the Painter  
Text: 'The domed ceiling of the root bed is painted with an image of a tiefling holding bouquets of rainbow-spewing flowers. A skeleton lies atop a marble slab in the center of the root bed. A wooden box is tucked under one bony hand.'  
The unlocked box contains wood-handled paintbrushes, full paint jars, and a paint pallet.

3\. Lady the Weaver  
Text: 'A skull pops out from a rolled tapestry on the marble slab in the center of the root bed. Woven, tasseled cords hang from the domed ceiling.'  
If the PCs unroll the tapestry, it depicts a woman weaving at the center of a web. Spiders at the ends of the web wave their fore arms over their mandibled heads. As the characters leave the center of the room, 1d6 swarms of spiders crawl down the cords to the ceiling.

4\. Ariel the Antiquer  
Text: 'A woody mass like tangled roots takes up the marble slab on the center of the root bed. Piled all around it, covering the floor, are heaps of old baskets, braziers, bundled tapestries, candlesticks, chairs, chests, cooking utensils, cressets, curtain rods, decanters, dishes, jugs, lamps, scroll cases, tankards, and tinderboxes. None of the junk looks valuable. An old chandelier hangs from the domed ceiling.'  
PCs could spend hours searching the root bed.  
As they leave, Ariel the Edelgaunt awakens from hibernation and attacks.

5\. Root of the Gardener  
Text: 'You are greeted by the pungent smell of dark, loamy earth. A woody mass like like tangled roots takes up the marble slab on the center of the root bed. Heaped around it, covering the entire floor, are clay pots and watering cans full of black earth.'  
As the characters leave, the Gardener awakens from hibernation and attacks.  
If your card reading reveals a treasure, it's buried inside a watering can or clay pot with an additonal 5% chance of finding it with every container searched.

6\. Mark the Doorman  
The 10-ft-sq section of the floor in front of this root bed is a pressure plate that releases four poison darts hidden in tiny holes in the north wall (see Chap 5 of the DM's Guide). The trap resets when the weight is lifted and can be triggered 4 times before the supply of darts depletes.  
If the door is opened: 'The root bed smells of sickly sweet acid. The remains atop the marble slab have disintegrated, leaving only a thighbone.'  
A detect magic spell reveals that Mark's thighbone radiates an aura of magic. See appendix C for more info Mark's thighbone.

7\. Root of the Refiner  
Text: 'The door of this root bed lies on the floor, black oil pooled in its slight curve. The root bed gapes open to a floor covered in inches of the heady, burn-scented oil. A woody mass like like tangled roots takes up the marble slab on the center of the root bed. Black oil has stained every inch of the woody mass.'  
As the characters leave, the Refiner awakens from hibernation and attacks.  
If your card reading reveals a treasure, it's in a secret compartment in the side of the marble slab.

8\. Dolly the Quilter  
Text: 'A skeleton draped in a patchwork quilt lies atop a marble slab in the center of the crypt. Hanging on the back wall is half of a quilt depicting a party with a massive cake.'  
The lower half lies wrapped around Dolly, showing those who partook of the cake falling ill or dead while the Beast sings between a harp and a lute. Both quilts are magically preserved but not valuable.

9\. Picky the Fool  
Text: 'A small skeleton wearing the remains of a fool's costume lies atop a stumpy marble slab in the center of the root bed.'  
The slab is 4 ft long instead of the usual 6 ft. If the PCs explore this root bed, they find a small wooden box in a secret compartment in the slab. It contains two decks of cards, a full deck of illusions and one of tarokka cards.

10\. Leo the Bookbinder  
Text: 'A skeleton draped in a waterproof leather binding lies atop a marble slab in the center of the root bed. Leaning against the slab is a dusty pile of tomes, similarly bound.'  
There are four, 20-lb tomes: Beasts of the Unknown (an incomplete bestiary), Tomorrow's Weather Today (a centuries old almanac predicting the same, foggy fall mornings and stormy nights for every single day), Modern Marvels: Elevator Edition (the marvels of elevators and potential applications for the 'future'), and Pumpkin Tales (a series of children's fables all of which end in the unlucky pumpkin person getting eaten).

11\. Tasha the Pumpkin Farmer  
Text: 'Pitchforks stand alert along every wall of the root bed. Rags and shadows swirl above a marble slab like liquid darkness. The mass turns toward you, a grayed, hollow face at its heart, addressing you with a voice of sandpaper. "Are you here for my pumpkins?"'  
Tasha, a powerful mage turned wraith in death, attacks only if the characters proceed further into her root bed, or if they are accompanied by a Pumpkin-Eater. She will focus all her attacks on the Pumpkin-Eater first. Tasha will not leave her root bed, as she believes that she's protecting her Pottsfield pumpkin crop.  
If asked without threats, Tasha speaks lovingly about the first pumpkin golems she brought to life in Pottsfield. If the characters tell her about current events in Pottsfield, including the rise of the Pumpkin-Eaters, Tasha orders them to wipe out all the Pumpkin-Eaters. She gives them a pumpkin made from the weaved tines of pitchforks with a faint aura of magic and implants directions to a place in Pottsfield (Chap 8, area S7). She then telekinetically forces them out of her root bed and slams the door shut. They can hear faint wailing and mourning from behind the door.

12\. Trots the Mirrormaker  
Text: 'A skeleton lies atop the marble slab in the center of the root bed. The walls, ceiling, and even the back of the door are mirrors.'  
If the characters attempt to disturb the skeleton, their hands pass straight through, but the illusion will not dissipate until every mirror in the room is broken or removed.  
A compartment under the slab contains a small, black leather case containing three spell scrolls (wall of fire, passwall, and greater invisibility).

13\. Katy the Inventor  
Text: 'A woody mass like like tangled roots takes up the marble slab on the center of the root bed. Lying amid the tangle is a stoppered drinking horn, a fat pouch, and a weird-looking scepter made of metal and wood. Above the bones, hanging from the doomed ceiling by wires, is a wooden flying contraption that looks like a set of folding dragon wings fitted with leather straps, metal buckles and taut leather wings.'  
The slab on which the roots and items rest is weight-sensitive. If anything is removed without an equivalent weight replacing it, poisonous gas pours out of the slab's hollow interior and fills the room. A PC who searches the slab for traps and succeeds on a DC 12 Wis (Perception) check spots tiny holes bored into the slab's marble base.  
A creature in the crypt when the gas is released (including Katy the Edelgaunt) must make a DC 14 Con save, taking 22 (4d10) poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.  
Katy wakes only if she takes damage from the poison gas, if characters remove an item from the slab or trigger it by standing on it to get the glider.  
The stoppered drinking horn is a water-resistant powerder horn loaded with gunpowder, and the weird-looking scepter is a musket. (See Chap 9 of the DM's Guide.)  
Any Small or Med humanoid can wear the glider. It takes one min to don or doff. It can't support more than 200 lbs, though the weight limit is not evident unless a PC makes a DC 15 Int check. It descends 1 ft for every 10 ft of horizontal distance. If the user tries to accelerate, the glider breaks and the wearer falls.  
The glider has AC 12, 1 hp, and a 15-ft wingspan. Any damage causes the glider to become inoperable. A mending cantrip can repair damage, provided all the pieces are present.

14\. Stabs the Organmaker  
Text: 'A ten-ft-square shaft plunges into darkness. The sound of slowing dripping water echoes up the metal shaft.'  
Characters with darkvision or sufficient light can see the shaft descends 40 ft to a vault. The metal walls can't be scaled without magic.  
At the bottom of the shaft: 'This dank vault has a 10-ft-high metal ceiling. The room is awkwardly shaped and smells of rotten meat. Organ pipes stand together like fenceposts throughout the vault.'  
Behind the pipes are fifteen mummies, all preserved victims of Stabs, organmaker and serial killer. His modus operandi was to kidnap and kill whenever an instrument needed new gut strings, as he preferred the sound of human to sheep gut. Stabs own remains were cremated in the fire used to make the finishing metal touches to the Beast's organ at Stabs's own request.  
The mummies will attack only if awakened on a DC 10 Stealth fail. Or if the character intentionally disturbs them.

15\. Khazam the Magicman  
Text: 'A pile of rags lies atop a marble slab in the center of the root bed in an almost human-like slouch. A solitary pitchfork lies on the floor before the slab.'  
If the PCs approach, Khazam the wraith hovers up from where he slouches and faces the PCs, watching. He will attack in 1 round unless...  
Khazam was a powerful archmage and the self-proclaimed rival of Tasha the Pumpkin Farmer, for whom he still harbors unrequited love. If he sees her metal pumpkin symbol with the PCs, he will immediately lose the will to fight and break down in sobs of "Tasha! Tasha, why?" (She rebuffed him for always coming on too strong and interrupting her work.)  
If the PCs mention another wraith or mage, he will stop to ask them of whom they speak. He will not follow them out of his root bed.  
The pitchfork is actually a staff of power.

16\. Elsa the Engineer  
Text: 'A skeleton lies atop a marble slab in the center of the root bed. Nine shallow alcoves are carved into the surrounding walls, each holding a stone chest.'  
The chests are unlocked and contain preserved scrolls with magically written script that can only be deciphered and read when the nine scrolls are pieced together, DC 15 Int (Investigation) check. They form a complete map and floorplan of the Elder Edelwood, though make no mention of its inhabitants.

17\. Cedric the Science Guy  
Text: 'A six-ft-long, three-ft-tall glass tank of translucent green gelatin sits in the center of the root bed. A perfectly preserved Fungai in a white lab coat floats within.'  
Cedric is, in fact, alive. He's a CN Fungai noble who will revive in 5 rounds if the characters break open the glass tank with a DC 20 Str check. While non-hostile so long as the PCs don't threaten him, Cedric speaks only Undercommon. If the PCs take him out of the Elder Edelwood with them and he is unable to find anyone with whom to communicate within 24 hours, he will succumb to Edelwood Slumber.  
If someone in the party can communicate with Cedric, he will gladly take them on a tour of the Elder Edelwood but will run at the first hostile encounter, taken completely aback by the new and violent state of the future.

18\. Reserved for Granny Lee  
Text: 'The root bed is empty and has been swept clean as though in the hopes of a speedy occupation.'  
The Beast has a love-hate relationship with Granny Lee after she both created the Dark lantern to hold his soul yet also crafted the one item capable of tearing through the Dark lantern, the Dark metal Claw Hand Maw, in case he ever threatened her.

19\. Muscleman the Builder  
Text: 'An exceedingly large skeleton hangs just over the sides of the marble slab at the center of the room. Builder's tools lean against the slab at upright angles.'  
There's all kinds of handheld tools but only one of each kind.

20\. Sasha the Musician  
Text: 'A woody mass like like tangled roots takes up the marble slab on the center of the root bed. Lying atop the woody tangle is a dusty lute. Roots twine around the lute's neck and pegs. As the mass rises up, the pluck of fragile gut strings echoes in the root bed.'  
True to her pre-Edelgaunt self, Sasha sits up and plays a delicate melody on her lute. She will not attack unless she or her lute are threatened. If the PCs listen to the entire tune (1 min), they receive a boon akin to a potion of heroism, and Sasha returns to hibernation. She will rise again if they try to take her lute.

21\. Patty the Fey  
The creature inside attacks as soon as the door is opened.  
Text: 'From the darkness comes a horrifying visage, a spectral dusk elf twisted by undead existence. She wails, and the sound claws at your soul.'  
Patty is currently a banshee that attacks the PCs on sight on her way to "freedom", using her wail immediately. Once awakened, she is free to roam the Elder Edelwood but can't travel more than 5 miles from her root bed.  
In life, Patty was a dusk elf and sister of the Highwayman. But to escape poverty, she offered her magical talents to the Beast, who encouraged her in any and all pursuits as long as she helped him maintain the Elder Edelwood. Drawn to the sisterhood of the Black Turtle cult witches, her pursuit became that of necromancy. She learned of past mage's successes in becoming wraiths and decided to aim higher, at lichdom. Patty ultimately failed, partially severing her soul from her body, the latter of which succumbed to complete physical decay.  
When the PCs investigate the root bed: 'In the center of the root bed, a skeleton lies atop a marble slab. It grasps a spellbook in its bony hands.'  
The spellbook contains those listed for an archmage in the Monster Manual.  
If Patty is restored to life by her brother (see Chap 13), she returns as an archmage with no spells prepared. If the characters have her spellbook, she asks for it back to help destroy the Beast. If the characters oblige, she joins them in the final fight against the Beast, but her harrowing experiences have left her extremely susceptible to the mists and she will become a mist-possessed during the encounter. As a mist-possessed, she will attack the nearest moving creature, friend or foe alike.

22\. Eric the Taxman  
Text: 'A gilded skeleton lies atop a marble slab in the center of the root bed, surrounded by thousands of items used as currency.'  
The thin layer of gold, if peeled from Eric, is worth 500 gp in the item of currency used in Taven Town. There are 250 pp of the currency items from Tavern Town, 1100 gp of currency items from Adelaide, and 5200 sp of currency items from Pottsfield.

23\. Reserved for Guests  
The first time the characters happen upon this root bed, they see one of their names (randomly determined) etched into the door. Opening the root bed releases the cloying odor of burning Edelwood tinder and oil and reveals a body in Edelwood Slumber that, despite all the shoots sprouting from their flesh, looks just like the named character. Touching the corpse causes it to dissipate into a falling cloud of fog. On later visits, this root bed is empty.

24\. Ivan the Dogracer  
Text: 'A skeleton is draped in pelt rug that tumbles down the sides of its marble slab. The walls and celing are covered with plaster painted with images of dogs both running and guarding.'  
The root bed contains nothing of interest.

25\. Steve the Entomologist  
Text: 'A skeleton covered by an enlarged replica of a beetle's shell lies atop a marble slab at the center of the root bed.'  
If the PCs disturb the shell, 2d6 stirges fly out and attack.

26\. Valery the Librarian  
Text: 'A skeleton lies atop a marble slab papered with preserved index cards. Most of the bones appear dusty, but the skull is well polished.'  
A detect magic spell reveals that the skull radiates a faint aura of necromancy magic. As long as the skull remains in the root bed, it will answer up to 5 questions per day as though with a speak with dead spell. If questioned about the Beast or the Elder Edelwood, Valery provides true information between scathing criticisms of the fey Ensign about their inconsiderate book-borrowing habits and ineptitude as the head janitor.  
The library cards belong to books that were never returned, as the PCs can determine by the missing stamps on the last lines with a DC 15 Int (Investigation) check.

27\. Reserved for Intruders  
Text: 'This root bed is missing it's door.'  
Three giant wolf spiders infest this otherwise empty room. They make no noise and leap out to attack anyone who moves in front of the root bed's gaping doorway.  
This is also the teleport destination from the trap between beds 37 and 38.

28\. Bassman the Chef  
Text: 'A woody mass like like tangled roots draped in a white linen apron and chef's hat takes up the marble slab in the center of the root bed. It twines around a cleaver lying at its center.'  
As the characters leave, the Chef awakens from hibernation and attacks.

29\. Duff the Diabolist  
Text: 'Opening the door causes the air around you to turn as cold as the coldest hell you can imagine. Every surface inside the root bed is covered with thick, brownish mold.'  
A patch of brown mold (see Chap 5 in the DM's guide) fills the root bed. Characters within 5 ft of the open doorway are affected.  
If the brown mold is killed off, PCs find the bones of Duff lying atop a marble slab.  
Hidden under the brown mold next to Duff's bones is a luck blade with two wishes. If a creature wishes to escape the Unknown, the blade transports them into the center of the vault at the bottom of Stabs the Organmaker's root bed (14). If a creature wishes for the destruction of the Beast, the sword teleports him within 5 ft of the sword.

30\. Rom the Intern  
Text: 'A marble slab in the center of the root bed displays a skeleton in a white lab coat and leather goggles and gloves. Swarms of white rats sleep in one massive ring around the slab.'  
2d4 swarms of rats attack if the PCs enter the root bed beyond the doorway. They do not pursue characters once they leave the root bed.

31\. Budded Root  
Text: 'A massive root drops from the ceiling down over the marble slab at the center of the room. Thick, bulbous tendrils have twined around the slab, cracking and crushing it in places. These tendrils sprout from the entire length of the root with bulbs ranging in size from a skull to a small child.'  
This is the root from whence the Woodcutters bud. If the PCs cut inside the root (DC 30), they discover a Woodcutter inside, sprouting roots and tendrils. The Woodcutter sees them with their open eyes but is in too deep a trance to move or speak. Any who tries to communicate with the Woodcutter telepathically must make a DC 15 Wis save or fall unconscious.  
Cutting the bulbs open (DC 15), exposes asexually reproduced fetal Woodcutters, killing them, and may be subject to alignment penalties at the DM's discretion.  
If your card reading reveals a treasure is here, it's stuck and protruding from the trunk of the budded root and requires ten minutes to carve out.

32\. Reserved for Intruders  
Text: 'This root bed is empty except for two alcoves in the back wall.'  
A character who examines the alcoves (DC 10 Int (Investigation)), discovers two stone buttons in each one's walls. Pushing the button drops a retractable marble-topped slab from either. Characters within 6 ft of the wall must make a DC 15 Reflex save or take 22 (4d10) bludgeoning damage. The slabs retract after 5 min.  
This is the teleport destination from the trap between 37 and the south wall.

33\. Chophand Tom  
Text: 'In the center of the root bed, atop a marble slab, a disarray of bones lies above a puddle of black rags.'  
Approaching the puddle causes Chophand Tom to rise up from the dead as a N male wraith who doesn't know he's dead or a wraith. Chophand was a notoriously clumsy and unobservant servant of the Beast, considered a dead man walking by the most pragmatic of the Beast's allies.  
So archmage Khazam staged an 'accidental' death for him to use Chophand as his guinea pig for the wraith-turning process. The experiment was mostly a success, except for Chophand's great confusion. To avoid Chophand from getting out and accidentally spreading word of what Khazam did to him, Khazam charged him to guard this root bed and simply sealed the door with Chophand inside. Chophand has been on unrelieved guard duty ever since, passing the time in a mild trance of stupefication.  
He interrogates the PCs to discover if they mean to bring harm to his root bed and drops his guard if they claim they will not. Chophand immediately reveals his true, genial and talkative nature, providing mostly unverified gossip about people he doesn't know now occupy the root beds. When the PCs turn to leave, he is having such a grand time doing something for the first time in centuries that he follows them, chattering away unless asked to be quiet.  
He will not attack the PCs unless they threaten him or his root bed. He will not attack anyone he knew in life (most of those in the root bed), expressing only great confusion about why everyone is fighting. If the PCs succeed on a DC 20 Cha (Persuasion) check, they can convince him to fight with them against the Beast. If they fail, he will deliver a sad goodbye and return to his post.

34\. Hellsy the Necromancer  
Text: 'Resting in the center of this root bed is a broken marble slab. A crown of twisted horns rests at its center.'  
This root bed is desecrated ground. After entering this root bed, there is a 10% chance that the PCs will encounter the fey Hellsy in the Elder Edelwood whenever a random encounter is rolled in addition to the encounter. This chance increases to 30% if they take Hellsy's crown.  
Hellsy is not actually a Necromancer but an archdruid who became an Edelgaunt, decided they didn't like it, and is now stuck permanently using their wild shape ability to maintain fey form. Most current residents of the Elder Edelwood, however, believe that Hellsy brought themself back to life with necromantic magic.  
Hellsy no longer has the mental concentration to prepare spells. When encountered, Hellsy simply runs around naked (but smeared in black sap), laughing and screaming their name, which causes any animal or vermin (including Business Bats) to frolick joyfully after them.

35\. Jarn the Batbreeder  
Text: 'The sickly sweet smell of guano fills this root bed. Bat droppings blanket the skeleton lying on a marble slab at the room's center.'  
PCs who coat themselves in this un-oiled guano will prevent Business Bats from attacking them for the next 1d4 hours or until they wash it off. This property can be revealed with a DC 15 Int (Nature) check.

36\. Reserved for Intruders  
Text: 'An empty marble slab sits in the center of this room'  
The root bed contains nothing of interest.  
This is also the teleport destination from the trap between bed 38 and the south wall.

37\. Root of the Glassblower  
Text: 'Lying on a marble slab in the center of this root bed is perfectly preserved dusk elf encased in glass. Grooves along the sides of the marble slab have been set with glass that extends down and across the entire floor like liquid crystal.'  
If your card reveals a treasure here, it sits on top of the glass coffin.  
Applying more than 50 lbs to any 5 ft square of glass causes it to shatter, and anyone directly on top of the square takes 5 (1d10) piercing damage. The walls can be scaled with a climber's kit or magic.

38\. Root of the Wood Mason  
Text: 'A woody mass like like tangled roots takes up the marble slab on the center of the root bed. Six wooden mannequins stand poised with carving tools all around the room in a circular progression of movement.'  
If your card reading reveals a treasure here, one of the mannequins is holding it.  
The Wood Mason awakens and attacks when a PC approaches within 3 ft of a mannequin.

39\. Wonderhorse the Wonder Horse  
The door to this root bed is larger than all the others, 6 ft wide by 8 ft tall. Removing or resetting the slab requires a successful DC 20 Str check. When the door is opened: 'Dry, hot air and smoke billow from the root bed as a black horse with a flaming mane and fiery hooves emerges. Smoke billows from its nostrils as it rears up with an ear-piercing whinny.'  
Wonderhorse is the Beast's former bodyguard, summoned and bound the to the Beast by Duff the Diabolist. But his mane kept catching the Beast aflame, so the Beast fired him. By that time, Duff had already died and could not unbind Wonderhorse. Enraged, Wonderhorse went on a rampage, burning everything he could-mostly other servants of the Beast as the Elder Edelwood had been fireproofed. So the Beast trapped him in the root bed.  
If released, Wonderhorse (104 hit points) will set everything in his path ablaze on his way to the root bed of Duff the Diabolist, which he means to descrate and defile by any means possible. He will attack the players if they attempt to stop him, get in his way, or attack him, but focuses his efforts on destroying Duff's rootbed.  
Wonderhorse blazes a trail in the oil of the rootbed area, causing the Business Bats to swarm and attack him. Edelgaunts and other land-bound hostiles in the root beds, however, will not cross a square of fire.

40\. Taz the Transporter  
Text: 'A skeleton lies atop a marble slab in the center of the root bed.'  
A detect magic spell reveals a powerful aura of conjuration magic. A creature who steps on a 5-ft-sq in the root bed is randomly transported to another 5-ft-sq.  
Taz was the archmage responsible for all the teleportation devices in the Elder Edelwood. But he had the misfortune of being best friends with Duff the Diabolist and ended up getting burned to death by Wonderhorse because of his acquaintance.

Elder Edelwood, Root Tangle (Post-crypts)

K85. Root of the Dark Metal Miners  
A portcullis is closed in the archway into this root. Lifting it requires a successful DC 25 Str check.  
Text: 'White marble steps descent into the massive, woody root with a vaulted ceiling 30-ft overhead. A stillness is felt here, frozen dust in stagnant air. At the center, a woody mass like a tangle of roots rests on a white marble slab. To the north, behind the slab, are three alcoves. A skeleton poised with wire, wearing a miner's light, and wielding a pickaxe stands in each. A metal lever protrudes from the south wall, west of the entrance.'  
Raising the lever lifts the portcullis at the top of the stairs. Pulling it down lowers the portcullis. The Edelgaunt awakens when a PC approaches within 3 ft of a skeleton or opens its marble slab.  
There are 2d6 precious gemstones (randomly determined) in a secret compartment in the slab that can be sold for 250 pp's worth of currency item at any settlement.  
If your card reading reveals a treasure here, it is in the leather utility belt of one of the skeletons.  
If your card reading indicates an encounter with the Beast, he's stepping jauntily around the room with a miner's lamp on his head, a pickaxe over his shoulder, and whistling a mining tune.

K86. The Hole of the Beast  
A heavy portcullis closed in the archway leads to this room deep within the root tangle. Lifting it requires a DC 25 Str check.  
Text: 'Black marble steps descend past the storm-gray rock of Thronestone to the pure wood of a massive root in the root tangle. The slight sting of loamy, freshly turned earth permeates the chamber up to the vaulted ceiling 30 ft overhead. The walls have been smeared with black sap that adds its heavy, burning odor to the stagnant mix. Settled into the back wall of the chamber, cut into the central root itself, is the carved outline of the Beast. The walls of the hole extend endlessly into the wood and darkness behind them.  
A metal lever protrudes from the north wall, east of the entrance.'  
Raising the lever lifts the portcullis at the top of the stairs. Pulling it down lowers the portcullis.  
Lying under the earth near the east wall are the three Edelgaunts of the miners represented by skeletons in K85. Each wears a leather utility belt and broken miner's lamp. They rise to attack anyone who approaches the hole of the Beast.  
There is a hidden western alcove that can be detected with the detect magic spell for its strong aura of conjuration magic or with a DC 20 Wis (Perception) check. It teleports any who enter to root bed 32 in area K84.  
Treasure  
One miner carries gold brick in their utility belt worth 850 gp's worth of currency item at any settlement.  
One miner carries jewels in their utility belt worth 2250 gp's worth of currency item at any settlement.  
One carries platinum brick worth 250 pp's worth of currency item at any settlement.  
Teleport destination  
Those who teleport here from area K78 arrive at the bottom of the stairs.  
If your card reading reveals a treasure, it sits in the mouth of the hole of the Beast.  
If there's an encounter with the Beast: 'A spot of light twinkles from the center of the darkness in hole of the Beast. As it grows, a tide of cold fog spills out from the hole and around your ankles. The fog rises, obscuring the growing light. But it is enough to illuminate the outline of a Dark metal lantern in a hand like a living silhouette.'

K87. Guardians  
The following text assumes the characters are approaching from area K84. If they approach from area K88, references to descending stairs should be changed to ascending stairs.  
Text: 'Wide steps descend to a landing flanked by two alcoves. Within each alcove is a humanoid silhouette shrouded in mist. A soft curtain of mist and shadow flows between them. Dimly visible on the other side of the curtain are more descending stairs.'  
The curtain has no effect on creatures that move east to west (from area K88 to area K84).  
A creature with a lawful good alignment that moves west to east through the curtain is teleported back to the top of the stairs behind them. A Small creature can squeeze behind and around the immobile, mist-shrouded figures to circumvent the fog curtain.  
Attacking one of the figures will cause the curtain to dissipate, but the PCs must then deal with 2 mist-possessed. If they kill one of the mist-possessed, the other is freed of their charge to maintain the curtain and will leave. This mist-possessed can be encountered again randomly.

K88. Root of the First Spores  
Text: 'This root bed rests in hushed silence. Tall, stained glass windows dominate the eastern walls, allowing dim, colored light through. They depict the silhouette of the Beast calling up pastel-skinned gnomes from deep within the earth. A great woody mass like a tangle of roots rests on each of two, white marble slabs. The vaulted ceiling 30ft overhead is inlaid with a gold mosaic depicting a the shadowy figure of the Beast with a gnome to one side and a much larger but still gnome-like figure on the other, an axe in hand.'  
Anyone who looks upward through a window can see, 110 ft above, the Elder Edelwood's overlook (area K6). Anyone who falls out a window here plummets 900 ft to the base of the Thronestone.  
The Edelgaunts do not rise up to attack unprovoked unless your card reading indicated an encounter with the Beast. The Beast has pressed himself against the life-size figure of himself on the mosaic and drops down after the characters look up.  
If your card reading reveals a treasure, it lies in the pool of stained light between the two marble slabs.  
The Edelgaunts will not rise unless attacked.


	6. Chapter 6

Chap 6: Tavern Town, Lore

Located close to the shores of Lake Froget, the town of Tavern Town holds itself as a safe haven against the perils of the Edelwood forest, if not the Beast himself. The town lies beyond the shadow of the Elder Edelwood on its Thronestone and doesn't, at first blush, seem as opressed as the village of Adelaide farther east. Those who spend time in Tavern Town, however, quickly realize all the happiness here is but a strained and fragile false hope.  
Tavern Town was founded by the Brown-Dam families not long after the caretaker of the Unknown became the Beast. The Brown-Dams, however, splintered into factions after the despair induced by the Beast, his mists, and his songs. The Dams all but died out, survived only by their distantly removed and related cousins, the Watts.  
The current burgomaster, Baron Brown Dam, has retaken the Dam name in the hopes of mending relations between his business rivals and extended family, the Watts. He stages one "togetherness" festival after another, but neither the Browns nor the Watts can bare to drop their cutthroat taverning practices.  
Only the Blue Tavern dares to openly defy the monopoly of the other two by calling itself a tavern. But it cannot compete with the the prices or amenities of the Burgomaster Tavern or the Watter Tavern.  
Every business and occupied building in Tavern Town, however, serves as a tavern on the sly, though many are lacking such basic facilities as spare rooms or beds. This common idiosyncracy is, for better or worse, unique to Tavern Town.

Approaching the Town  
Text: 'Worthwagon Road meanders into a valley watched over by dark, brooding mountains to the north and south. The woods recede, revealing a moutain burg with a wooden palisade festooned in layers of colorful banners, all reading "It's Time to Celebrate Togetherness."  
The dirt road ends at a set of sturdy gates with a pair of shadowy figures obscured by fog standing behind them. Planted in the ground and flanking the road outside the gates are a dozen, giant paper lanterns, their light turned to a soft glow in the mist. Each bears one painted letter from the word "TOGETHERNESS".'  
A 15-ft-high wall encloses the town, its vertical logs held together with thick ropes and black sap mortar. THe top of each log has been sharpened to a point, on which the many twines of the banners are looped. Wooden scaffolding hugs the inside of the palisade 12 ft off the ground, enabling guards to peer over the wall there.

Town Gates  
Three tall gates made of metal bars lead into town:  
-The north gate is called Froget Gate or the gate to the lake because it leads to Lake Froget (Chap 2, area L).  
-The west gate is called Failure Gate and a few abandoned cottages/failed taverns line the road outside this gate.  
-The east gate is called Cloud Gate after the Queen of the Clouds, the benevolent deity.  
Heavy chains with metal padlocks keep the gates shut at night. During the day, the gates are closed but not typically locked.  
Two town guards (LG male and female, any race) stand just inside each gate. Instead of spears, they carry pikes (reach 10 ft, 1d10+1 piercing damage on a hit). These weapons are long enough to stab creatures through the bars of the gate. The guards greet all visitors with desperate, face-straining pleasantry, unless the visitors are openly hostile.  
If trouble breaks out at one of the gates, the guards cry out, "Not again! Code XX!" (The DM may choose the alphanumerical combination to replace the XXs.) Their shouts are echoed across Tavern Town, putting the entire town on alert and on the verge of barely-contained violence in minutes. The town as 24 guards (any race), half of whom are on duty at any given time (six stand watch at the gates and six patrol the walls). The others can be found at various taverns. The town also musters a mob of 50 able-bodied commoners, any race, armed with clubs, daggers, and torches.

House Occupants  
If the characters explore a residence other than Burgomaster Tavern (area N3), roll a d20 and consult the following table to determin the house's occupant.  
d20 Occupant  
1-3 1d6 giant goats  
4-5 2d4 swarms of rats  
6-18 Tavern Town folk  
19-20 Black Turtle cultists

Giant Goats  
A building housing giant goats appears abandoned at first but filled with wreckage and smelling of acrid goatshit and gamey goat oils. The goats are half-starved and attack with the desire to eat.  
The cultists of Tavern Town have been using these giant goats as sacrifices for years to maintain secrecy. This has impacted the efficacy of certain rituals, but not enough for them to risk exposure by murder.

Rats  
A house infested with rats appears abandoned at first. The rats are servants of the Beast and attack if the characters explore the interior of the house.

Tavern Town Folk  
A house of townsfolk contains 1d4 adults (LG male and female commoners, any race) and 1d8-1 children (LG male and female, any race, noncombatants). Anyone who listens at the door hears chatter from within. Townsfolk politely but consistently refuse to invite strangers into their homes unless the characters bring up the possibility of renting a room as per a tavern.

Cultists  
A Black Turtle cult haven contains 2d4 adults (LE male and female cultists, any race) and one cult fanatic (LE male or female, any race) who leads them in prayer or orchestrates ritual sacrifices. These cultists worship the Beast as the successor to the Black Turtle mantle and consider Fiona Watt (see area N4) to be their spiritual leader.

Tavern Town Lore  
In addition to the info known to all denizens of the Unknown (see Chap 2), Tavern Town folk know the following:  
There are three official taverns in town, Burgomaster Tavern, Watter Tavern, and Blue Tavern. Blue Tavern offers the lowest quality food and amenities of the three, but it's the only one with a stable.  
The burgomaster, Baron Brown Dam, has decreed that the next togetherness festival will be held in the town square (area N8) in three days. The previous togetherness festival was held less than a week ago.  
Tavern Town has endured at least one festival every week for the past several years. Some townsfolk believe that the festivals keep the Beast at bay. Others claim they provide general but unspecified protection or benefits.  
None dares to speak ill of the festivals, though speaking of them at length tends to cause facial strain and elevated blood pressure.  
The burgomaster's righthand man, Hothand Zeb, got his name for his ability to conjure fire, but only in one hand.  
No one hates the burgomaster more than Fiona Watt, who still goes along with the festivals. She owns the old but lavish Watter Tavern (area N4). Her two sons, Nicolas and Carl, are cutthroat promoters of the Watter Tavern. She's also been rumored to have a daughter but no one has ever seen her if she exists.  
Purple flashes of light have been seen emanating from the attic of Burgomaster Tavern, but that's part of the property off-limits to patrons.  
Dogs and dire dogs prowl the woods and aren't afraid to attack travelers on Worthwagon Road. Well-armed groups of hunters and trappers have managed to kill several of the dogs, but more keep coming.  
It's too dangerous to go fishing on Lake Froget (Chap 2, area L) because of all the roaming packs of dogs, but they haven't seemed to bother any members of the Frogfolk colony that lives under the lake waters.  
There have been no recent sightings of the Weird Elk (Chap 2, area M) on Mount Barking. Folks used to see it skulking along the north shore of Lake Froget, sometimes on two legs. If the characters seem interested in this wildlife attraction, the locals recommend using a fishing boat on the south shore to cross the lake, because it's shorter and less dangerous than walking around.  
There's a Fungai camp in the woods southwest of the town (area N9), but none of the tavernkeepers like them because they refuse to stay in a tavern when they come through.  
West of the town is the Inn of Whispers (see Chap 7) that nobody goes to because it's too far for any sort of convenience and therefore lumped together with the failures of Failure Gate.  
South of the town is a village that's been abandoned for decades. They believe it was long ago cursed by the Beast, though for what crime has been lost to the mostly unrecorded history of the Unknown.

Tavern Town, Areas  
The following areas correspond to labels on the ORIGINAL CoS map of Vallaki.

N1. Church in the Clouds  
This church has the same configuration as the one in the village of Adelaide (Chap 3, area E5), but without the undercroft.  
Text: 'This slouching, centuries-old stone church has a bulging steeple in the back. Its walls, lined with cracked, stained glass windows, depict a garish musical procession to a city in the clouds. A metal fence encloses a garden of gravestones next to the church. A thin mist creeps among the graves.'  
This church is dedicated to the Queen in the Clouds, the only benevolent deity left to the denizens of the Unknown.  
Lucy (LG female priest, any race) oversees the church and does her best to maintain spirits. Assisting him is an orphan and altar boy named "You" (LG male noncombatant, any race). A brawny lass with a perpetually furrowed brow named Milly tends the grounds and digs graves.  
At night, the church is packed with 2d6+6 adults (LG commoners) and 2d6 children (LG noncombatants), all making use of the church's black market tavern services. The only price is that they must sit for Lucy's offering of prayers and sermon of the good Queen in the Clouds.  
Among the regulars is an old woman named Willa. Her son, the shoemaker Luke, has been imprisoned for getting caught running a black market tavern (see area N3m). She is one of the few with prayer requests, and they're always for the freedom of her son.  
Milly (N commoner, any race) is rarely seen without a shovel, which she wields like a club. Modify her stats as follows:  
-Her Str is 15 (+2).  
-Her melee weapon attack bonus is +4, and she deals 4 (1d4+2) bludgeoning damage when she hits with the blunt head of her shovel.  
She hates the togetherness festivals as much as Fiona Watt, the burgomaster's own archnemesis. She is not very social in general, believing all efforts not spent digging should be spent fighting the Beast. But she fears to leave her younger siblings all alone in Tavern Town.

The Iron Cloud  
The church was holy ground but recently lost its holiness. The great holy symbol, the Iron Cloud, was sealed in a hidden stowaway room under the church's main altar. But someone broken in and stole the bones a few nights ago. Lucy was the only person in Tavern Town who knew of the Iron Cloud but recalls mentioning them to You over a month ago in her explanation of the worth of prayer and faith-"If the Queen of the Clouds isn't listening, why did she grant us her holiness?" After the bones were stolen, Lucy asked You if he told anyone about them. You nodded but wouldn't divulge a name.  
The culprit is Milly, whom Lucy suspects. But the priest is reluctant to confront Milly because she's so temperamental. Lucy hasn't reported the theft in the hope that the Queen of the Clouds would provide and bring it back. If the party includes a good-aligned cleric or paladin, Lucy mentions the theft on the off chance that their efforts will speed the deity's providence.  
The stowaway room is a 10-ft-sq, 5-ft high chamber under the chapel. To reach the crypt, Milly used her shovel to pry up the floorboards, which she replaced. If a character confronts Milly and succeeds on a DC 10 Cha (Intimidation) check, she admits You told her about the Iron Cloud. She also admits to passing the info to Henny, the local coffin maker (area N6), and to stealing the Iron Cloud to Henny in exchange for the local currency item to help feed her younger siblings.  
The theft does actually leave the church vulnerable to attack by the Beast's necromantically-inclined minions (see Special Events). If the Iron CLoud is returned to their resting place, the church becomes hallowed ground again as though protected by a hallow spell.

N2. Blue Tavern  
Text: 'Gray smoke issues from the chimney of this large, two-story wooden building with a stone foundation and sagging tile roof, upon which several birds have perched. A painted wooden sign hanging above the main entrance depicts a blue waterfall.'  
The Blue Tavern is the main gathering place for locals without the currency item to spend the night at the Burgomaster or Watter Tavern or the nerve to run their own taverning services. The tavernkeeper, Winnie Mulchman, is a barely tolerated Fungai who considers her tavern a sanctuary from the twisted wilds of the Unknown. In the event of trouble, the windows and doors can all be barred shut from within.  
A bed for the night costs 1 sp in the town's currency item. Characters lookin for something to eat are fed hot beet soup and fresh bread for no additional charge. A cooked dog steak costs 1 gp in currency item.  
The tavern offers a pint of real wine or beer for 3 cp in currency item or a pint of real whiskey or vodka for 1 sp in currency item. Winnie is hurt if the characters complain about the food or drink as her family makes them in the Mulch Fields.  
The tavern's supply of alcohol is almost depleted, and the latest delivery from the Mulch Fields is overdue. If the characters claim to be adventurers, Winnie asks them if they'd be so kind as to find out what's holding up the shipment with the promise of free room and board if they return with the shipment.

Feathered Friends  
Winnie (LG female Fungai) is a Feathered Friend (see appendix D) and a high-ranking member of that secret society that opposes the Beast. Her wife and business partner, Dani (LG female, any race), is also a Feathered Friend, as are their two sons, Brom and Bray. The boys have only 7 hit points each and, at ages eleven and nine, are too young to be effective combatants. The boys were grown in the Mulch Fields like all Fungai in this day and age.  
At any given time, another 1d4 Feathered Friends are at the tavern, either shapeshifted as birds or renting rooms inside. They are loyal friends of the Mulchmans and help protect the tavern.  
If the characters earn the trust of the Feathered Friends, the society will watch their backs. The next time the characters get into serious trouble, you can have a group of 1d4 Feathered Friends show up to rescue or help them.  
If your card reading revealed a treasure here, the Feathered Friends don't reveal the location until they know the characters can protect it. As a way of testing them, Winnie gives them the following quest:  
'Winnie takes you aside and keeps her voice low. "My supplies from the Mulch Fields are nearly gone, and the next shipment is overdue. I'll give you what you've been searching for if you bring me the goods. The Mulch Fields are only a few miles west of here. Just follow Worthwagon Road and the signs."'  
Winnie fails to mention that her cantankerous father, Dave Mulchman, runs the Mulch Fields (Chap 12). There's bad blood between Winnie and Dave after Winnie gave up the typical Fungai life centered around Mulch to settle down with her wife, a lifelong citizen of Tavern Town. Although Winnie could easily visit the Mulch Fields herself, she considers dealing with Dave to be a worthy test of the characters's competence and makes good on her promise if they complete the quest.  
Winnie sends a Feathered Friend in bird form to observe the party's progress from a distance. If the characters get in or cause trouble, the Feathered Friend reports to Winnie at once.

N2A. Well  
A 3-ft-high stone rim surrounds the mouth of this 40-ft-deep, moss-lined well. The inn draws fresh water from this well.

N2B. Outside Staircase  
A wooden staircase hugs the outer wall of the inn and leads up to guest quarters on the upper floor (areas N2l and N2m). The sturdy wooden door at the top of the stairs can be barred from the inside.

N2C. Taproom  
Text: 'Damp cloaks hang from pegs in the entrance portico. The tavern is crammed with tables and chairs, with narrow paths meandering between them. A bar stretches along one wall, under a balcony that can be reached by a wooden staircase that hugs the north wall. Another balcony overhangs an entrance to the east. All the windows are fitted with thick shutters and crossbars. Lanterns hangin above the bar and resting on the tables bathe the room in dull orange light and cast shadows on the walls, which are plastered from floor to ceiling with ads for "Togetherness" festivals.'  
The double doors leading into the taproom can be barred shut from within.  
Mounted on braces and tucked into alcoves behind the bar are four barrels, one for wine, beer, whiskey, and vodka, and each three-quarters empty. A brass spigot is hammered into each barrel.  
Dani usually tends the bar while Winnie works the kitchen (area N2e). Their boys, Brom and Bray, scamper about and easily get underfoot.  
Before dawn and noon, there are no patrons here, and the Mulchmans are upstairs in their bedrooms (areas N2o and N2p) or in the attic (area N2q).  
From noon to dusk, the taproom holds 2d4 local patrons (LG commoners, any race). Between dusk and midnight, 2d8 townsfolk are here. In addition, one or more of the following people might be here at this time:  
Wolf Hunters  
Saul and Jessie (N scouts, any race) are local hunters who kill dogs and dire dogs to sell their meat and pelts for a living. Both are grim customers and have haunted looks in their deep-sunken eyes.  
Though on the verge of breakdown, neither can afford to pass up an opportunity to earn more thanks to their medical fees. If the characters are looking for guides or info about the Unknown, the hunters can be of service. They aren't afraid to venture beyond Tavern Town's walls during the day, and they know the woods and valley well ("Not well enough..."). They're willing to serve as guides for 5 gp in Tavern Town currency item per day, or to provide directions to important landmarks in exchange for free drinks. They think "Traveling at night leads only to regret..." and won't do it unless their payment is 100 or more gp's worth of currency item.  
Jessie speaks in enigmatic sentences that typically trail off without explanation. Saul rarely speaks, and then only to speak in general, similarly unexplained warnings ("Never fight a dog with a bone."). Jessie has a notch in her bow for every creature she's had to kill, while Saul adds a new swatch to his dire dogpelt cloak every time he fails to save someone he's guiding. Both have families but spend most of their time together, either drowning their encroaching despair or hunting in the woods.

Watt Brothers  
Nicolas and Carl Watt (N male nobles) are the brothers of cutthroat business. Their mother, Fiona Watt (see area N4), owns the prestigious Watter Tavern. They spend their time in Blue Taven talking to anyone who will listen and spreading horrific and unsubstanstiated claims about how terrible Blue Tavern is. Despite the often transparent lies, their slandering keeps the majority of taproom patrons from spending the night.  
When the characters come, they come to hear all about their travels and adventures, hoping to use the stories as slander fodder.

Fred  
Fred the fey (see appendix D) has glamoured himself as a horse. He adopted this guise after the companions forced to enter the Unknown with him all perished from the perils of the Unknown. He found that humanoids were less likely to attack him in the form of a horse.  
Fred is the only 'horse' in the Blue Tavern stable, otherwise occupied by the giant turkeys who pull the Mulchman's wagon, as well as the entire town. During his stay, he's quietly been gathering info on the Feathered Friends, trying to figure out all their identities. He's also been investigating the Fungais after witnessing the town's harsh treatment of the Mulchmans.  
Fred wears a hat of disguise and a ring of mind shielding to conceal his identity. He carries a skeleton key that unlocks the door to the Mulchman's stable (area N2F).

N2D. Liquor Storage  
Text: 'This hallway contains three curtained alcoves as well as a larger area stuffed with barrels emitting a strong, stinging odor of liquor.'  
The Mulchmans keep their alcohol here. Tucked behind blue-dyed curtains are three alcoves, each one containing a half-emptied barrel of spirits lying on its side in a wooden brace. Twelve empty barrels are piled high near the door to the kitchen (area N2e).  
The Mulchmans can identify which alcohol was in which barrel by the particular fragrance. The characters can as well with a DC 20 Wis (Perception) check.  
The double doorsthat lead outside can be barred shut from within.

N2E. Kitchen  
Text: 'This room looks like the kitchen of someone who lives to cook. It has piles of pots, walls lined with utensils and shelves of ingredients, and all manner of warm, comforting aromas. Two lanters hang above a sturdy wooden worktable in the middle of the clutter. A pot of soup bubbles on the hearth.'  
Winnie Mulchman, who prepares most of the meals, is found here throughou the day. She occasionally receives help from her two boys, but they're too easily distracted to be fully trusted in the kitchen. A cupboard against the east wall holds most of the cultery and dishware, none of it valuable. A door in the west wall leads outside and is usually barred from the inside.  
A secret door at the west end of the south wall can be pushed open to reveal a wooden staircase that leads up to area N2i.

N2F. Stable  
The sliding wooden doors on the west wall of this room are held shut by a lock and chain. Winnie carries the key to the lock, but Fred has a skeleton key. The doors to the north and south can be barred shut from the inside but are usually unlocked.  
Text: 'You hear the squawking of birds, the gutteral gobbling of giant turkeys, and an oddly nasal whinny of a horse as you peer inside. The stalls are clean and well maintained. One contains a red, perhaps ginger stallion. A small door is set into the east wall, and a wooden ladder gives access to a loft overhead. Perched on the wooden railing that encloses the loft are dozens of birds.'  
The horse is Frey, a glamoured fey. If the characters try to ride him, he will go along with it as long as the weight doesn't exceed the capacity allowed by his Str. Otherwise, he collapses.  
A detect magic spell reveals a strong aura of illusion magic.  
The small door in the east wall can be pulled open to reveal area N2g. The loft is described in area N2h.

N2G. Storage  
This small room lies under a wooden staircase (area N2i). Hanging from wooden pegs are harnesses to equip two giant turkeys. In an unlocked wooden cheast are dry turkey snacks.

N2H. Loft  
Text: 'Dim light spilling in through a pair of dirt-encrusted windows reveals piles of clean straw with pitchforks sticking out of them. Hundreds of birds bedeck the rafters.'  
Characters who search the loft thoroughly find three pitchforks and a locked wooden chest under a pile of straw next to a secret door. If the characters tamper with the chest the birds gather into four swarms of birds and attack. If two swarms are killed, the others flee. Otherwise, they cease their attacks if the characters leave the chest alone. If the fighting continues for more than 3 rounds, Winne Mulchman and two Feathered Friends hear the ruckus and investigate (in human form).  
A secret door in the back of the loft can be pushed open to reveal a bedchamber (N2p) beyond. No ability check is required to spot the door because light in the room beyond slips through the cracks.  
Inside the locked chest are 140 ep and 70 pp's worth of Tavern Town's currency item, two elixiers of health, three potions of healing, and a blue bag of tricks.

N2I. Secret stairs and hall  
Text: 'A wooden staircase to the north descends fifteen feet to a landing. A window dimly illuminates a short hallway papered with old ads for "Togetherness" festivals that runs west to east.'  
Guests aren't told about the tavern's secret hallway. Fred knows of it because he has heard the boys (who enjoy forcing him to carry them around) opening and closing the secret door.  
At each end of this area is a secret door, each of which is easy to spot from inside the hallway (no abilty check required). The northern secret door, at the bottom of the staircase, can be pulled open to reveal the kitchen (area N2e) beyond. The eastern secret door can be pulled open to reveal a balcony (area N2j) that overlooks the taproom.

N2J. Great Balcony  
Text: 'A wooden balcony stretches the full length of the taproom, enclosed by a wooden railing carved with bird motifs. The taproom's many lanterns illuminate the rafters and cast ominous shadows on the peaked ceiling.'  
The balcony floor is 15 ft above the taproom floor. A secret door at the south end of the western wall can be pushed open to reveal a wood-paneled hallway (area N2i) beyond.

N2K. Guest balcony  
Text: 'This 20-ft-long balcony provides a clear view of the bar and has a wooden railing carved with bird motifs. The taproom's many lanterns illuminate the rafters and cast ominous shadows on the peaked ceiling.'  
The balcony floor is 15 feet above the taproom floor.

N2L. Guest rooms  
These two rooms have identical furnishings  
Text: 'Two cozy beds with matching footlockers rest in the far corners of this 15-ft-sq room. Dog pelts are heaped atop each bed. Between the beds, a lamp sits on a table under a shuttered window. Two tall, black sap varnished wardrobes stand against the wall by the door.'  
The door to this room can be locked from the inside, and each guest gets a key. Winnie and Dani carry spare keys. The footlockers and wardrobes are empty and are for te use of guests.

N2M. Guest room  
Text: 'Four plain beds with straw mattresses line the north wall of this well-lit room. Each bed comes with a matching footlocker to store clothing and other belongings. A table and four chairs occupy the corner across from the door. An oil lamp resting on the table casts a warm yellow flame.'  
The door can be locked from the inside, and each guest receives a key. Winnie and Dani carry spare keys. The footlockers are empty and are for the use of guests.

N2N. Private Guest Room  
Fred has a skeleton key to this room, which is locked at all times. He uses it when the Mulchmans are asleep as the tavern never has patrons who spend the night. The door's lock can be picked, but discretion is called for because the door is in plain view of the taproom below.  
Text: 'This small guest room contains a bed heaped with dog pelts, a footlocker, a tall wardrobe, and a writing desk with a matching wooden chair. An oil lamp rests atop the desk.'  
Fred keeps a journal in red leather locked in the footlocker, which uses the same key to the room. His writing recounts the long and tedious days he spends being ridden by the Mulchman boys and others curious about the only horse in town. He has also written about various oddities he has seen during his time traveling and looking for an escape with his companions:  
-A pitchfork and torch wielding mob running after a centaur  
-Anthropomorphic frogs acting indistinguishably from amphibian humanoids  
-An elk walking around on two legs  
-A giant gnome chopping down a tree with a magic axe  
-Trees breathing fog and oozing pitch-black, oily resin

N2O. Boys's bedroom  
Text: 'A large, painted toy box rests between two small, cozy beds. Murals of birds in flight are painted on the backs of old flyers.'  
Brom and Bray don't spend much time in this room. The toy box contains a pile of "care"worn toys, many of them etched with the slogan "No Fun for You!" The toys include:  
-A puppet theatre of frog puppets in costume  
-A miniature turkey wagon with wooden turkeys  
-A wooden top with images of scarecrows chasing children through the forest  
-A tree with featureless wooden dolls attached to it by strings  
A hidden trapdoor in the 8-ft-high ceiling opens into a secret attic (area N2q).

N2P. Master bedroom  
Text: 'Matching end tables flank a large, wood-framed bed with a blue-dyed canopy. Across from the bed, the wall has been papered with the backs of blue flyers.'  
Winne and Dani retire to this room every night before heading to the attic (N2q) to sleep. This room is for appearances only and contains no valuables.  
A secret door at the west end of the south wall can be pulled open to reveal the loft beyond (area N2h).  
A hidden trapdoor in the 8-ft-high ceiling opens into a secret attic (area N2q).

N2Q. Secret attic  
Text: 'This 10-ft-wide, 35-ft-long attic has a ceiling that slants down toward the west, dropping from a height of 8 ft to a height of 5 ft. Four nests cover the floor, and a locked strongbox sits against the north wall. A small square opening int he south wall leads outside. Two trapdoors with metal hinges are set into the floor.'  
The Mulchmans sleep here at night in hybrid form. The opening in the south wall is just big enough for a bird or other Tiny creature to pass through. The Feathered Friends can use this opening as an escape route.  
Two trapdoors, clearly visible on the floor, can be pulled open to reveal the bedchambers (areas N2o and N2p) that lie directly beneath them.  
Winnie carries the key to the locked strongbox. The lock can be picked with thieves's tools and a successful DC 20 Dex check. The box contains a sack of 150 ep's worth of currency item, and three potions of healing.  
If your card reading reveals that a treasure is here, it is in the strongbox.

Tavern Town, Burgomaster Tavern, Ground Floor

N3. Burgomaster Tavern  
Text: 'This massive establishment has walls of vividly plastered stone. Garish, multicolored drapes cover every window, including a large, arached opening above the tavern's entrance doors.'  
Patrons come and go from the tavern at all hours, most congregating in the grand taproom (area N3a). Morever, guards bring in criminals cited for "malicious disunity."  
If the characters knock on the front doors, a server (LG commoner) lets them in, escorts them to the den (area N3e), and leaves to fetch Baron Brown Dam.

Roleplaying the Family  
The burgomaster, Baron Brown Dam (N male noble, any race), is a proud, stubborn man who firmly believes that only "togetherness" can save their town from the despair of the Beast and the Unknown.  
He has a brittle ego and lashes out at anyone who pokes fun of his festivals or treats any of his blood disrespectfully. He has two pet mastiffs that follow him everywhere, as well as his righthand man, Hothand Zeb (see appendix D). In addition to his weapons, Hothand Zeb carries a ring of keys that unlock the stocks in the town square (area N8).  
If the characters get on his bad side, Baron accuses them of "malicious disunity" and sends 12 guards to arrest them, seize their weapons, and run them out of town or put them in the stocks. If the guards fail, Baron sends Hothand Zeb to rally a 30-strong mob of commoners to do the job. The frenzy, however, turns to a blood-frenzy and the commoners will attack with the intent to kill. If the mob fails, Baron summons the 12 remaining guards to his tavern, giving the town up to the PCs.  
If the characters get on his good side, he insists that they join him as special guests at the next festival.  
Two members of the burgomaster's staff have vanished in the past week. Baron has charged Hothand Zeb to find out what happened to them, but Hothand Zeb doesn't know the first thing about investigation. Searches have been organized to no avail.  
Lydia (LG female noble, any race) has embraced her husband's togetherness festival fanaticism, though it causes her considerable facial strain and elevated blood pressure. She laughs at every comment spoken to her. She does, however, spend time with tavern patrons in the tea and sandwich room, which is where the poor are sequestered for free-meal dining. Lydia is one of the few faithful to the Queen of the Clouds and is the younger sister of the local priest, Lucy.  
The burgomaster's love-lorn son is Jimmy Brown (CN male mage), who has confined himself to the attic (area N3t), where he is content to avoid his parents, who refer to him as "Jimmy Brown Dam" against his wishes. Years ago, Jimmy Brown found an old spellbook in the tavern's attic and used it to teach himself magic. He's been busy constructing a teleportation circle in the hope of escaping the Unknown now that he believes he will never again be united with his love, Miss Langtree, who left Tavern Town to seek hope elsewhere.

N3A. Grand taproom  
Text: 'Framed portraits adorn the walls of this grand taproom papered with ads for "Togetherness" festivals. Leather booths curl up around tables against the walls. A long hall attached to the taproom stretches almost the length of the tavern an has several doors leading away from it, including one at the far end. The bar sits in front of a wide staircase with a sculpted railing. A chandelier hangs above the room and shakes slightly from its frenzy of servers and patrons.'  
The stairs climb to the upstairs gallery (area N3i).  
Tucked in the northeast corner is a vestibule packed with the patrons's cloaks and coats.

N3B. Tea and sandwich room  
Text: 'This room contains spare, wooden furnishings, and its clientele are noticeably more dirty, weary, and worn than the other patrons. Servers bring them trays loaded with small mountains of rock-hard sandwiches and jugs of pungent, earthy tea seeming without end.'  
The poor are given free food and drink here. Lydia visits with them here once a day.

N3C. Dining room  
Characters can hear the chatter of female voices as they approach. The first time they peer in: 'A chandelier fitted with red wax candles hangs above a polished wooden dining table. Around the table are seated 8 women of various ages in high-backed wooden chairs. They drink a pungent, brewed spirit and devour a rack of lamb. Upon noticing the PCs, all eating and speaking ceases.'  
This is a women's only drinking and dining room for women who wish to get wasted without men around.

N3D. Preparation room  
Text: 'White sheets cover two plain, wooden tables in the center of the room. Neatly arranged atop one table are neat stacks of polished silverware. The other table is covered with wicker baskets containing turnips, beets, and other hearty vegetables. Severs hustle and bustle in and out of the room, grabbing silverware or foodstuffs as needed.'  
All the silverware together is worth 150 gp's worth of Tavern Town currency item.

N3E. Den  
Characters who ask to see the burgomaster are brought here.  
Text: 'Padded chairs and couches line the walls of this cozy, carpeted den. The room reeks of pipe smoke from a small crowd of townsfolk smoking and speaking in hushed voices.'  
This room sequesters 2d6 smokers (LG commoners, any race) from the patrons to avoid complaints. Smokers are not permitted to eat or drink in this room, but this has allowed the burgomaster to fill the room with more easily stained though more comfortable furniture.

N3F. Servers's quarters  
Text: 'This room contains four triple-decker bunk beds and an equal number of stacked and locked wooden cabinets.'  
Three servers sleep here for free on rotation while 9 work, though 2 of the twelve servers have gone missing.  
The trunks contain the staff's clothing and uniforms.

N3G. Kitchen  
Text: 'A cook wearing a white apron over a black smock busies himself in this warm kitchen smelling of fresh baking and oven roasting. A staricase in one corner climbs to the upper floor.'  
The staircase leads to the upstairs gallery (area N3i). A door in the west wall leads to a garden outside. The door is usually locked, and both the cook and the burgomaster carry keys to unlock it.

N3H. Pantry  
Text: 'This pantry contains shelves packed with foodstuffs. Two barrels of homebrewed brew stand against the east wall. A folded wool blanket lies on the cot against one wall.'  
The cook sleeps here whenever he isn't cooking.

Tavern Town, Burgomaster Tavern, Upper Levels

N3I. Upstairs gallery  
If the characters arrive here from the entrance hall (area N3a): 'The staircase climbs 20 ft to a gallery that continues west, running almost the length of the tavern. Flyers for "Togetherness" festivals paper the walls from floor to ceiling, and red silk drapes over a ten-ft-tall arched window of leaded glass.'  
If they arrive from the kitchen (area N3g): 'The staircase climbs to a 10-ft-wide gallery that continues west, running almost the length of the tavern. Flyers for "Togetherness" festivals paper the walls from floor to ceiling. Two separate, narrow hallways lead away from the gallery to the north.'

N3J. Hothand Zeb's bedroom  
The door to this room is locked. Hothand Zeb carries the only key.  
Text: 'Row upon row of lifeless, steely eyes stare at you from mounted shelves and every solid, flat surface in the room. They are toys-animals, dolls, monsters-all cast in heavy metal.'  
Hothand Zeb (see appendix D), the burgomaster's righthand man, sleeps here at night. During the day, he's in town taking care of his master's business. A wooden chest weighted down by lines of metal toys contains a heap of wrinkled clothes, under which is a nonmagical shortsword and a metal smoking pipe.  
Each toy, made by the local Mr. Toymaker (area N7), bears the inscription "No Fun for You!"

N3K. Jimmy Brown's bedroom  
Text: 'The room contains a bed with a red silk canopy, a low bookshelf, and a full-length mirror in a wooden frame on the wall across from the door. Set into the north wall is an arched window of leaded glass. Though nothing seems unusual, the air is stagnant.'  
Nothing about the bedroom betrays Jimmy Brown's magical proclivities, though the terrible feng shui might make some uneasy. The books include collections of fables and mythology of the Unknown, most fanciful versions of the Unknown's true history with some core element of truth.

N3L. Hostel guests's room  
Text: 'Triple-decker bunk beds with red, silk sheets and soft white pillows line every wall of this windowless room. At the center of the room are stacked and locked wooden drawers, each one paired by a number to a bunk.'  
If the burgomaster hasn't been introduced elsewhere, he is here: 'A portly man stands on a ladder braced against the towers of wooden drawers. He replaces the melted red candles in the chandelier with fresh, new candles, placing each old one in his mouth like pipes. Resting on either side of the ladder are a pair of black mastiffs.'  
Baron Brown Dam never goes anywhere without his beloved mastiffs, Earny and Burny. One of his idiosyncracies is consulting them as his advisors over his every decision. They do not respond, being simple dogs.  
Two of his servers have vanished without a trace in the past week, putting him in a state of worry and concern.  
Baron believes everyone must hear the good word of the benefits of Togetherness and cordially invites, pressures, and sometimes indirectly threatens everyone to take part in the festivities. Any protest, challenge, or question of his authority falls on willfully oblivious ears. At a threat, however, he will summon guards and Hothand Zeb.  
The Baron wears a signet ring and carries three keys: one that unclocks the door in area N3g, and two keys for the door and manacles in N3m.  
The lockers contain nothing of value-merely the clothing and other such ordinary items that belong to the tavern's overnight guests.

N3M. Locked closet  
The door to this quaint punishment room is locked. Baron carries the key.  
Text: 'Chained to the back wall of this otherwise empty closet is a sad-faced man. Shackles around his wrists anchor him within one foot of the wall opposite the door.'  
The man is Luke the shoemaker (LN commoner, any race). He was arrested after an unhappy patron tipped off the guards that he was running a black market tavern in his cobblery.  
Baron has the key to his manacles. The manacles break if they take 10 or more damage from a single weapon attack.  
If released, Luke just wants to go home. If Baron discovers Luke's absence, he sends Hothand Zeb to find Luke and question him. Luke provides the names and descriptions of his liberators under threat of the hot hand.  
Baron will turn against the characters for siding with the underground taverns and paper the town with unflattering flyers of their likenesses, warning of their "criminal" ways. Black market taverns will no longer offer their services to the players, nor will Burgomaster or Watter Taverns, but Blue Tavern will.

N3N. Master bedroom closet  
Text: 'Cloaks, coats, gowns, and other fancy apparel hang from hooks in this closet. Arranged on low shelves are many shoes, slippers, and boots.'

N3O. Master bedroom  
Text: 'Time has faded the colors and crispness from the furnishings of this master bedroom. A short pull-rope hangs from a wooden trapdoor in the ceiling.'  
Baron and Lydia sleep here at night but keep nothing of value on this floor as all guests have access to it.  
The trapdoor in the ceiling can be pulled down to reveal an attic room (area N3r). An unfolding wooden ladder allows easy access.

N3P. Toilet and washroom  
Text: 'This room smells of fresh powder and soapy perfume. A line of mirrors hang along one wall over sinks and, at its center, vanity tables. Mounted on another wall is a full-length mirror with a gilded frame. A door in one corner leads to a toilet, and a line of patrons stand along the wall in front of the single mirror, waiting.'  
A detect magic spell reveals that the gilded mirror on the wall radiates an aura of conjuration magic. None of the mansion's current occupants are aware of it, as the mirror hasn't been used in years. Casting an identify spell reveals that an assassin's ghost is magically bound to it. The spell also reveals the rhyme needed to summon the ghost:  
Magic mirror on the wall,  
Summon forth your guest;  
Imprisoned spirit, heed my call  
And take a penitent quest.  
The witch Tabitha bound the spirit of the assassin the Beast sent to kill her to this mirror. She intended to release him after sending him on an errand to prove his worth but the Beast found her before she could do so. Tabitha was forced to abandon the mirror in her escape, binding most of her own spirit to the All-Seeing Monocle. The rest of it (non-magical) reincarnated in Irene Kole.  
If a creature speaks the rhyme while standing within 5 ft of the mirror and staring at its own reflection, the assassin's ghost appears nearby in sight of all. The form it takes depends on the alignment of the summoner.  
Non-evil summoner-if the summoner isn't evil, it assumes solid form, appearing as a masked man in form-fitting black. He has the stats of an assassin but doesn't speak. He disappears if reduced to 0 hit points. The summoner can command him to kill one living creature within the Unknown if the summoner knows their name. The assassin automatically perceives the distance and direction to the named target. He attacks any creature that prevents him from completing the task. Once completed, the assassin disappears. If commanded to kill someone dead or undead, or if he isn't given an appropriate name, the assassin disappears.  
Evil summoner-if the summoner is evil, the assassin appears as a ghost with ghost stats. He tries to kill the summoner but disappears when reduced to 0 hit points.  
Once the mirror is used, it can't be used again until the next dawn. The mirror has AC 10, 5 hit points, and immunity to poison and psychic damage. Destroying it 'frees' the assassin to be trapped in the mist along with all the other dead.  
The mirror corrupts those who use it to kill. Each time a creature uses the mirror, there is a cumulative 25% chance that their alignment shifts to NE.  
If a character touches the mirror and says "the Beast," there is a 50% chance that the Beast takes notice and appears on the mirror's surface in his shadowy silhouette. In this form, he can't be harmed but does try to charm one humanoid he can see within 30 ft of the mirror. A charmed creature feels compelled to accept the Beast's invitation to the Elder Edelwood.

N3Q. Bathing room  
Text: 'A polished tub with clawed feet stands against the back wall. Fresh, folded towels rest atop a table near the door.'  
Baths aren't popular with townsfolk patrons, so typically only the Baron and his family, including the mastiffs, use the tub.

N3R. Attic room  
Characters are most likely to enter this room via a trapdoor in the ceiling of the master bedroom (area N3O).  
Text: 'The walls are papered in notices: "Honored guest(s), please return the way you came. This floor is off-limits and we, the Brown Dams, are not liable for damages you may incur here."  
The high ceiling reaches its peak 20-ft above. The wooden rafters are shrouded in cobwebs, but the lower reaches of the room has been dusted. Wooden boxes are stacked in a single, neat pile.'  
The boxes contain spare bedding materials, towels, and clothing. None of it is valuable.  
A door in the south wall can be pulled open to area N3s.

N3S. Attic storage  
Text: 'This large attic is full of old, forgotten, and broken things draped in white sheets. Piled around are barrels, crates, trunks, and old furnishings covered with cobwebs and dust. You see a clear footpath through the maze.'  
Characters can follow a single set of human footprints in the dust that lead area N3t. Searching through the items reveals only broken junk that would need to be fixed for any use.  
If your card reading reveals a treasure is here, it's hidden in a trunk. Each character has a cumulative 20% chance of finding the item for every hour spent searching.

N3T. Spellroom  
Jimmy Brown spends most of his time here, leaving only when he needs food or spell components. When the characters first set eyes on the door: 'A wooden sign hangs from the doorknob. It reads "We are all trapped." You hear a young man's voice beyond.'  
Anyone who inspects the door and succeeds on a DC 14 Int (Investigation) check notices a small, faint glyph etched into the wood of the door. This is a glyph of warding (5d8 lightning damage) that triggers if anyone other than Jimmy Brown opens the door.  
The voice belongs to Jimmy Brown. Anyone who listens and succeeds on a DC 14 Int (Arcana) check can tell he's badly pronouncing some kind of teleportation spell.  
If the characters open the door: 'Someone has taken old, mismatched furniture and created a study in this lamplit chamber choked with dust. Tables are strewn with pieces of parchment, on which strange diagrams are drawn, and a freestanding bookshelf holds a collection of bones. A dusty rug covers the floor in front of a wooden box, on which lounges a skeletal dog. Several more skeletal dogs skulk about.'  
If the PCs trigger the glyph of warding or otherwise announce their arrival, Jimmy Brown casts a greater invisibility spell on himself and hides in a corner. Otherwise, he's visible.  
If the characters can see Jimmy Brown: 'In the center of the room, perched on a stool, is a thin young man with a premature streak of gray in his dark hair. He cradles an open, leather-bound book in his arms.'  
Jimmy Brown found a spellbook in the attic and is using it to teach himself magic. Only recently has he been able to decipher some of its high-level spells.  
For practice, Jimmy Brown dug up the dog bones of the dogs that came before his father's mastiffs and animated them, creating six dog skeletons (use the cat stat block but give them darkvision 60 ft and immunity to poison damage, exhaustion, and the poisoned condition). The skeletons attack only when Jimmy Brown commands them to.  
The sheets of parchment are covered with elaborate diagrams of teleportation circles. Jimmy Brown drew them in an effort to learn the teleportation circle spell he's trying to master.  
The trunk contains several bolts of red silk cloth, needles and thread, and a half-finished wizard's robe. Jimmy Brown works on it before he goes to bed as he finds it relaxing.  
Teleportation Circle  
Jimmy Brown's spellbook contains incomplete text for the spell, along with the sigil sequences of three permanent teleportation circles, the locations of which aren't described. There's not enough text to prepare the spell properly, but that hasn't stopped Jimmy Brown.  
He recently inscribed his own version on the floor. It's hidden under the rug so his parents don't find it. In the past weeks, he's imbued the circle with magic, but has failed to account for several factors. His circle doesn't fade after use nor does it function like teleportation circle. If used to cast the spell, any creature on the circle takes 3d10 force damage and isn't teleported. If the damage reduces the creature to 0 hit points, the creature is disintegrated. Any character who studies the circle and succeeds on a DC 15 Int (Arcana) check realizes the circle is horribly flawed and potentially deadly.  
Jimmy Brown tested the circle by bribing the two missing servers. The servers died in flashes of purple light. Jimmy Brown was horrified and has been researching non-stop to fix the circle. But as he believes there is nothing for him in the Unknown as his love, Miss Langtree, has left Tavern Town in search of an answer to the terror of the Beast, he intends to use the circle again.  
Jimmy Brown's spellbook contains all the spells from the mage stat block as well as: acid splash, animate dead, blight, cloudkill, darkvision, glyph of warding, levitate, mending, remove curse, and thunderwave.

Tavern Town, Watter Tavern

N4. Watter Tavern  
Text: 'The tavern slouches from on high, its black-tiled roof threatening to slide at this angle. Vines climb the on wooden trellises against the walls, both decorating and obscuring the weary sag. The occasional patron bustling through the door neither notices nor minds.'  
The tavern's master, Fiona Watt, is secretly the head of the local Black Turtle cult. She also seeks to supplant Baron Brown Dam as the town burgomaster to end the blighted "Togetherness" festivals.  
Roleplaying the Watts  
Lady Fiona Watt (LE female priest, any race, AC 10 and no armor) makes no secret of her acrid rivalry with the Brown family, refusing even to call the Baron "Brown Dam." The instituting of the "Togetherness" festivals have pushed her to seek ways to usurp the burgomastership.  
Fiona conspired to wed her daughter, Stellabel, to Jimmy Brown to get a foot in Baron's household. When the two were set to meet, Stellabel searched Burgomaster Tavern for him and wound up on the receiving end of his glyph of warding. So close to death, the mist took hold of her mind and brings her ever closer to Edelwood Slumber with each day. To maintain face with the cult, Fiona locked away her "heretic" daughter (see area N4n).  
These days, she meets with her "book club" (the cultists) and plan their takeover of the town with codewords that sound nonsensical as delivered through their fake book reviews.  
Another secret of Fiona's is that she has cast gentle repose on the corpse of her dead husband, Nicolas, and keeps him in her bedroom. She misses him terribly though he's been dead for 3 years and simply hasn't been able to let go.  
If the characters come to Watter Tavern looking for help to overthrow the burgomaster, Fiona is all ears and suggests first killing Hothand Zeb. She's happy to take care of the rest.  
If they come looking for a way to defeat the Beast, she will laugh the characters out of the tavern. She laughs so hard that she begins to cry, slapping the shoulders of nearby servers and patrons as she walks/forces out the characters. As the characters leave the premises she says, "I haven't laughed like that since grade school."  
She has the prepared the following priest spells:  
Cantrips: light, mending, thaumaturgy  
1st level (4 slots): command, purify food and drink, sanctuary  
2nd level (3 slots): augury, gentle repose, hold person  
3rd level (2 slots): animate dead, create food and water

Fiona's sons are Nicolas and Carl (N male nobles, any race) in whom she sees much of her husband. They've grown particular cutthroat and slanderous in the tavern business sector since the establishment of the Blue Tavern. They're usually at the Blue Tavern, slandering the place to the face of its patrons to keep them from spending the night.  
They are aware of Fiona's cult, but focus exclusively on the business of running Watter Tavern and eliminating its rivals, starting with the weakest. They don't know that she has kept their dead father preserved and learning of it would squick them out.

Fiona's spy is Mr. Lark (LE male, any race). He keeps her informed about everything that happens in town in case their is an opportune moment for takeover. Mr. Lark knows Fiona's secrets and would blackmail her in a heartbeat if she ever turned against him. He firmly believes, however, that Watter Tavern offers the best accommodation in town and fiercely guards his privilege of free room and board.

N4A. Front door and vestibule  
The front door is never locked and constantly opening and closing for patrons or servers at all hours. Poor-looking patrons, however, are spotted and turned out as soon as possible. If the characters are dirty or particularly haggard when they approach, a server will come outside and ask them with stiff politeness to depart.  
The server will not fight but flee inside if threatened and lock the door, which can only be opened with a successful DC 20 Str check.  
Text: 'The front door opens into a narrow vestibule. Three stained-glass doors depict all manner of animal and plant lifeforms atop a giant, black island in the middle of an aqua sea.'  
Two closets flank the front door, filled with the coats and cloaks of the patrons. They clothes are high quality, if not masterwork, and fetch the corresponding prices in a settlement's currency item.

N4B. Staircase  
Text: 'A wooden staircase leads up to a balcony. At the foot of the stairs is a landing with three stained-glass doors in wooden frames. They depict the same scene as below except that also humanoids walk the islands.'  
The staircase climbs 15 ft to the upstairs hall (area N21).

N4C. Kitchen  
The house cook (see area N4h) rushes about this spotless kitchen most of the day, preparing meals or cleaning. A washbasin stands in the northeast corner. A slender door in the west wall leads to a small pantry.

N4D. Storage room  
This room holds trunks of spare linens as well as three barrels of drinking water, and four barrels of spirits imported from the Mulch Fields-whiskey, vodka, wine, and beer. All the barrels are half-empty.

N4E. Back vestibule  
This is identical to the front door vestibule in design and use, only that the back door is locked. The doors lead to areas N4d, N4f, and N4h.

N4F. Server's closet  
Text: 'Servers fancy uniform jackets and spare suits hang from hooks in this room, and boots are neatly lined up against the wall.'  
Anyone who searches the closet and makes a successful DC 10 Wis (Perception) check finds a secret door in the south wall. The door can be pulled open to reveal a stone staircase (area N4g) that leads to the cellar.

N4G. Secret staircase  
Text: 'Torch sconces cling to the wall of a stone staircase that cuts its way through the heart of the old house.;  
The stairs connect the server's closet (area N4f) with the cellar (area N4s). Fiona uses this staircase to reach the secret cult lair (area N4t).

N4H. Server's quarters  
Text: 'The furnishing in this room is austere but clean and comfortable. There are four triple-decker bunk beds, each paired by number to a simple wooden chest.'  
Three of twelve servers sleep here on rotation while the other nine work. They know Fiona's secrets but would rather die than betray her.  
Their chests hold only clothing, none of it valuable.

N4I. Booth room  
Fiona comes through at least once a day to greet patrons here.  
Text: 'Here three elegant leather booths surround an intricately patterned oval rug. All are set in front of a blazing hearth, above which hangs the portrait of a man with a face of strong planes and angles. He sports a broken nose and a tangle of hair graying at the temples. Several smaller portraits hang on the north wall. Smaller portaits hang on the north wall.'  
The portrait depicts the late Nicolas Watt. The other portraits depict the three children playing various games with each other, usually in some sort of mess.  
The booth room shares the fireplace with the den (area N4k). Mr. Lark lurks in the den and eavesdrops on any conversation that Fiona has with the characters, so he can advise her after they depart.

N4J. Bar  
Text: 'An ornate bar stretches the length of this room, a crystal chandelier spilling gentle light from above. The servers set silverware and and food on porcelain dishes before the patrons who sit on leather-cushioned stools. Arched windows made of a latticework of iron and glass look out onto the small, fog-swept lawn.'  
If the characters aim to oppose the burgomaster, Fiona tells the barkeep to give them any food or drink they ask on the house.

N4K. Den  
Text: 'Wood paneling, embroidered rugs, colorful furnishings, and a blazing fire distract from the stifling clouds of pipe smoke from the crowd of murmuring patrons. Across from the hearth, tall, slender windows look out over flowerless gardens.'  
Mr. Lark lounges with the smokers when he's not spying.

N4L. Upstairs hall  
Text: 'A hallway with a window at each end wraps aroudn the staircase railing. Framed portraits and mirrors festoon the walls, surrounding you with the staged play of children. You hear something scratching at one end of the many doors.'  
The scratching noise comes from the door to area N4n, which is locked. If the characters call out, a plaintive female voice begins to sing.  
Song reference: watch?v=mRvWJWgaICM  
A closet at the south end of the hallway holds blankets and linens.

N4M. Brothers's rooms  
Text: 'This bedroom contains nothing out of the ordinary: a neatly made bed, a table with an oil lamp on it, a handsome wooden chest, an ornate wardrobe, and a window box with aqua drapes.'  
These two rooms belong to Nicolas and Carl. There's a 25% chance that one of servers is here, tidying up.

N4N. Stellabel's room  
The door to this room is locked from both sides, and only Fiona has a key.  
Text: 'This room is musty and dark. An iron-framed bed fitted with leather straps stands near a wall. The place has no other furnishings.  
A young woman stands in a simple shift with her back to you, scratching the wood-paneled wall with a knife. She turns her head just enough that you glimpse a dark, dilated eye. She begins to sing and turns back to the wall.'  
The woman is Stellabel Watt (CG female noble, any race). A greater restoration spell heals her mind enough to fight the mists back from her mind. If cured, she turns against her mother for treating her horribly and using her as a pawn to seize control of the town. Stellabel knows none of her mother's secrets, apart from her mother's desire to overthrow the burgomaster. Stellabel has nothing kind to say about the burgomaster or his son, Jimmy Brown, whose reckless magic harmed her. With her wits restored, Stellabel feels she has no one in Tavern Town she can count on. She latches onto any character who is kind to her. If the party takes her to Tavern Town's church, Lucy offers to look after her, and she agrees to stay there.

N4O. Master bedroom  
The door to this room is locked. Fiona and her servants carry keys.  
Text: 'Across from the door, a fire sputters and struggles for life in the hearth, above which hangs a framed family portrait: two parents, one of whom being a decades-younger Fiona, and their three children.  
Wood paneling covers the walls of the room. To the north, a wide bed with a black and aqua pinstriped canopy lies between matching end tables with oil lamps. A closet and a framed mirror flank an aqua-curtained window to the south. The door to the closet hangs slightly ajar.'  
Fiona's husband appears to be sleeping while standing inside the closet. He is in fact, dead, and under the effect of the gentle repose spell. Nothing of value is on him, though he wears a finely tailored funeral suit sewn onto his body.  
The closet also contains shevles of fancy footwear and many fine garments, including a black ceremonial robe (similar to the ones worn by other Black Turtle cultists in Tavern Town's cult chapter, see area N4t). On a high shelf rests a locked metal chest. Fiona hides the key to the chest on a tiny hook in the fireplace, under the mantel. A character who takes a minute to search the fireplace finds the key with a successful DC 10 Wis (Perception) check. Use of the key disables a poison needle trap hidden in the lock (see Chap 5 in the DM's Guide). A creature that triggers the trap and fails the saving throw against the needle's poison falls unconscious for 1 hr instead of being poisoned for 1 hr.  
The chest is lined with thin sheets of lead and contains the bones of an evil ancestor, an assassin. They keep his bones under lock and key so that he can't be raised from the dead. They aren't aware that the witch Tabitha bound his spirit to a mirror that has found its way into Burgomaster Tavern.  
If your card reading reveals a treasure here, it is in the chest of bones.  
Characters who have a passive Wis (Perception) score of 15 or higher notice a key hanging at the back of the closet.

N4P. Hostel guests's room  
Text: 'Narrow but elegant beds under aqua curtains line the walls. Locked wooden drawers bear metal plaques whose numbers correspond to those on similar plaques on the beds. A bookcase stretches between the beds along the southernmost wall.'  
The drawers contain fine, if not masterwork, clothing belonging to the wealthy patrons and accordingly priced.  
There is a 25% chance that a server is here, tidying up.  
The bookshelf is actually a secret door. It can be pulled outward, revealing a doorway to area N4q.

N4Q. Storage room  
Text: 'Behind the hinged panel in the bookcase lies a dusty, 10-ft-sq room with a curtained window and shelves lining three walls. On the bottom shelf rests an iron chest. The other shelves are bare.'  
The key to the chest can be found in the closet of the master bedroom. Use of the key disables a poison needle trap hidden in the lock (see Chap 5, DM's Guide).  
The chest contains: a wooden pipe passed down through many generations of Watts, all the way back to the Dams, and five scrolls-notarized deeds for parcels of land given to the Dams from the Browns then renotarized on one scroll under the Watt name.

N4R. Cellar entrance  
If the characters approach the cellar door from the outside: 'A slanted, wooden cellar door with an iron pull ring and iron hinges stands against the foundation of the house.'  
The door is unlocked. On the other side of the door are stone steps leading to a stone landing with a wooden railing. A longer staircase extends south from the landing, leading down to the cellar.

N4S. Cellar  
Text: 'This large root cellar has a dirt floor. Two ascending flights of stone steps enclosed by wooden railings stand across from one another. Tracks in the earth lead from one staircase to the other, and other trails go from both staircases to the center of the bare west wall. Four neatly made cots are set in a row against the south wall.'  
Buried under the earthen floor are 8 skeletons, animated remains stolen from the church cemetery (area N1) and animated by Fiona. They rise up and attack anyone who crosses the floor. They don't attack anyone who utters the phrase "The Mantle of the Black Turtle protects me." Only Fiona, her family, servers, and the members of her "book club" know the phrase.  
The cots are for any cultists who wish to use tavern services but are too tired to blend in with the patrons.  
The footprints in the dirt give away the location of a secret door in the center of the western wall. Consequently, no ability check is required to locate it. The door is soundproof and pivots open on a central axis.

N4T. Cult headquarters  
Text: 'Flickering aqua candles in metal holders fill this room with light and shadows. This room has a 10-ft-high ceiling and a large black knot in the vague shape of a turtle inscribed on the stone floor. Seated in four of five chairs around the black turtle are men and women in black robes with hoods-each silk hood stitched with the same pattern as on the floor. They rise to confront you.'  
The four are town residents (LE male and female cult fanatics, any race). They are also among the members of her "book club." Fiona only ever admits four at a time to avoid drawing too much attention.  
The cultists gather in secret and attack the characters to protect their identities.

Tavern Town, Townsplaces

N5. Amber Stockyard  
Text: 'This large stockyard has several locked sheds along its periphery and lies adjacent to a roomy warehouse. A wooden sign above the front gate reads "Amber Stockyard".  
Parked at the south end of the stockyard is a sturdy carnival wagon, its colorful paint peeling off. Faded lettering on its sides spells out the words "Carnival of Wonders." A heavy padlock secures the back door.'  
The stockyard is a general store and a facility where storage sheds can be rented-for the night, if patrons ask for taverning services. It is owned by a middle-aged married couple, Mr. and Mrs. Amber (LG commoners). They sell items from the Adventuring Gear table in the Player's Handbook that have a price of 100 gp or less, but at five times the price.  
Carnival wagon  
If the characters approach the wagon: 'The wagon suddenly lurches, as though something big has thrown itself against the inside wall. You hear the cracking of wood, the scraping of metal, and the snarl of something not quite human.'  
The townsfolk have captured a fog-addled centaur. Baron pays the Mr. and Mrs. Amber to keep it in the stockyard while he decides what to do with it, though he always gets distracted by planning his festivals.  
The lock can be picked with thieves's tools. If the wagon is opened, the fog-addled centaur attacks. If the players flee, it runs through town trying to escape to the woods and attacks anyone in its path.  
Treasure  
The warehouse contains countless items, some of them valuable:  
-An unlocked wooden coffer containing 50 ep's worth of Tavern Town's currency item  
-A small prayer book worth 50 gp's worth of currency item in any settlement  
-A healer's kit  
-Three wooden holy symbols inlaid with silver and in the shape of a cloud, worth 50 gp's worth of currency item in any settlement  
-A cold iron shortsword  
-A bundle of 20 cold iron crossbow bolts  
-A bone scroll tube containing three spell scrolls of protection from fiends  
If your card reading reveals that a treasure is here, it's hidden in a secret compartment in the carnival wagon.

N6. Coffin maker's shop  
Text: 'This quaint shop is two stories tall with narrow windows in wooden laticework. A sign shaped like a coffin hangs above the front door. It squeaks on its hinges in the slight breeze.'  
Henny (LE male commoner) is a mediocre carpenter but the only coffin maker in all the Unknown, for he receives shipments of mountain pine from the Fungais who live in the camp outside town. He does, however, serve as a spy for the Beast.  
A fearful man, he has requested the Beast for protection in case anyone finds out about his service. He has lent Henny a squad of the Beast's fog-addled fey. This has given the Beast to attack the town with a horde of his fog-addled fey, gradually imported as "protectors" for Henny. Henny keeps them in the upstairs wood storage room, area N6f.  
But this protection isn't enough. Henny collects holy symbols, and they are now the only currency he will now accept in exchange for taverning services. His hobby is well known and has inspired Milly to sell him the local church's own Iron Cloud, hiding it with the others in the bedroom wardrobe (area N6e).

N6A. Coffin storage  
Text: 'Arranged haphazardly about the floor of this musty, L-shaped room are several, asymmetrical pine coffins.'  
Henny stores and displays all the coffins he makes in this room. They are considered a town specialty and treasure.

N6B. Junk room  
Text: 'A table with four chairs is in one corner of this room, with a lantern hanging from a chain directly above. Two asymmetrical cabinets stand against the east wall.'  
The cabinets are packed with handheld carving tools.  
If the characters request taverning services and provide holy symbols, Henny takes an appropriate number of coffins from the display room and moves them here to serve as beds.

N6C. Workshop  
Text: 'This workshop contains all the large, heavy tools needed by a carpenter to make coffins and furniture. Three sturdy worktables stretch the length of the west wall.'  
Henny builds the coffins here as well as any furniture requests.

N6D. Kitchen  
Text: 'This kitchen contains a square table surrounded by chairs and shelves of provisions.'  
Henny prepares his meals here.

N6E. Henny's bedroom  
Text: 'This modest bedchamber holds a cot and several wonky pieces of furniture, including a teetering table, an uneven chair, a slanted bookshelf, and a bulging wardrobe.'  
Henny sleeps here, at night and well into the morning. The bookshelf contains a handful of storybooks and carpenters's manuals.  
The wardrobe in the southeast corner has a secret compartment in its base, requiring a successful DC 15 Wis (Perception) check to find. Inside are two large sacks of holy symbols, one holding the Iron Cloud.

N6F. Spare room  
Text: 'This large, drafty room is strung with cobwebs and takes up most of the upper floor. Stacks of wooden planks piled high lie amid several creates.'  
The two southernmost crates contain mountine pine lumber. The six crates in the northern part serve as beds for six of the Beast's fog-addled fey. If the characters open one of the occupied crates, all of them burst forth and attack.  
Characters who teleport to this location from area K78 in the Elder Edelwood arrive at the point marked on T the map.

N7. Toyshop  
Text: 'This cramped shop has a dark entrance portico, above which hangs a wooden sign shaped like a rocking horse. Flanking the entrance are two arched, lead-framed windows. Through the dirty glass, you see jumbled displays of toys and hanging placards bearing the slogan "No Fun for You!"'  
Tavern Town's toymaker, Mr. Toymaker (CN male commoner, any race), calls himself the "trapper of stories" but has been falling into despair lately because no one likes his creepy toys. The burgomaster tries to keep Mr. Toymaker out of despair and the Edelwood Slumber by paying him to make decorations of the "Togetherness" festivals, but Mr. Toymaker doesn't enjoy it.  
He's a heavyset man who wears a moth-eaten wizard's hat during store hours. In the past six months, the only toy-buying customers here in the past six months were Brom and Bray, the children of Winnie and Dani Mulchman.  
When the characters enter, believing them customers, tears fill Mr. Toymaker's eyes and he physically embraces them with open arms. "Finally, finally," he says in a voice shaking with emotion. "You've come to buy toys."  
Creepy toys are on display throughout, all priced 9 cp in Tavern Town's currency item:  
-A headless doll ith a sack of attachable heads  
-A miniature gallows, complete with a trapdoor and a weighted "hanged man"  
-A set of wooden nesting dolls; the smaller each one gets, the older it gets, until the innermost doll is a mummified corpse  
-A wood-and-string mobile of hanging bats with flapping wings  
-A ventriloquist's dummy that looks like a vampire  
-A doll that looks eeriely like one of the PCs, chosen at random  
If the characters don't buy a toy, Mr. Toymaker succumbs to the Edelwood Slumber. If they are traveling with any clockwork automaton, Mr. Toymaker is even more overjoyed and offers to make the characters any toy they desire, up to Large size, in exchange for giving him the clockwork "toy."

N8. Town square  
Text: 'The shops and homes that enclose the town square are decorated with limp, tattered garlands and painted wooden boxes. At the north end of the square stands a row of stocks, locked in which are several dour-faced men and women.  
In the center of the square, peasants in patchwork clothes stretch their faces into uncomfortably toothy smiles as they see you. They wave as they wait their turn to draw water from a stone fountain using cups and vases. Standing tall at the center of the fountain is a gray statue of a smiling Baron Brown Dam and a...possibly smiling Lady Fiona Watt holding hands.  
All around the square, flyers for "Togetherness" festivals paper the sides of buildings from roof to roadside.'  
The boxes are jack-in-the-boxes made by Mr. Toymaker. Touching any side causes a life-size Business Bat to pop out and chatter nonsensically until it winds back down into the box.  
The commoners in the stocks were arrested and placed there for showing "fractious disunity," which was anything from a long period of dourness to arguing where someone might hear.  
If the characters linger, they see the burgomaster's right hand man, Hothand Zeb (see appendix D), arrive with two town guards who carry small mountains of new flyers in their arms. Hothand Zeb orders the guards to begin papering the square with the new layer, advertising mandatory attendance of the next festival.  
Freeing one or more prisoners's without Baron's consent is a crime. If the characters are witnessed doing so, Hothand Zeb rallies the 24 town guards and orders the PCs to leave town or suffer the consquences. If the characters stand their ground, Hothand Zeb orders the guards to beat them into submission, seize their weapons, and cast them out to be dire dog food.  
If the PCs are exiled without their weapons, the Feathered Friends can help them if the PCs have proven themselves worthy.  
If the guards fall, they scatter. Hothand Zeb has already fled to Burgomaster Tavern. The PCs have the run of the town until they leave or some other group attempts a takeover.  
The townsfolk lock themselves in their homes, convinced the characters are worse than Baron and will outright murder them on sight.

Tavern Town, Out of Town

N9. Fungai Camp  
Several footpaths and turkey wagon trails lead to this location in the woods southwest of Tavern Town.  
Text: 'The fall-leaved woods part to reveal an expensive clearing: a small hill covered in golden grasses with low houses built into its sides.  
Atop the hill, above the tide of fog, is a ring of barrel-topped wagons that surround a large tent with a column of smoke pouring out through a hole in the top. The tent is brightly light from within. Even at this distance, you can smell the emanating odors of giant turkey and mulch.'  
This natural clearing serves as a permanent campsite for both the traveling Fungais and the dusk elves.

Fungais  
The elders have died, leaving the brothers Igor and Mr. Lou in charge. Both serve the Beast out of fear-Igor for his own life and well-being while Mr. Lou fears for his family.  
Mr. Lou's 7-year-old daughter, Arabelle, has recently disappeared. This has thrown the camp into a state of great fear and turmoil. As a result, Mr. Lou and Igor have imposed even stricter regiments and punishments on the Fungais in their camp. Though none can bring themselves to say it, they fear that the Beast has taken Arabelle as punishment for some kind of infraction on their part. They couldn't bear for anyone else to be taken.

Dusk Elves  
The dusk elves are one of the only remnants of the original fey population of the Unknown whose forms weren't altered by the Beast and his mists. The twisting of their brethren has forever stricken them with the fear of the Beast. The only one in recent history who did not fear the Beast was Patty, sister of the Highwayman. Her brother misses her with the same idiosyncratic ache that drives Fiona to keep her late husband preserved.  
The dusk elves have dark skin and hair and the stats of wood elves (see Player's Handbook). They reside inside hovels dug into the hillside and are mostly self-sufficient. They are skilled trackers, but many are far from the camp when the characters arrive, helping their Fungai neighbors search the Unknown for the missing Arabelle.

N9A. If the characters approach the hovel and its surrounding ditch at the base of the hill on the easter perimeter of the camp: 'Standing quietly in front of this hovel, bathed in the warm light of its lanterns, are three gray-cloaked figures bent and crouched in the ditch that surrounds this hovel like a waterless moat.'  
The cloaked figures are three guards (N dusk elves). If the characters seem friendly and are looking to speak with someone, the guards direct them inside to the Highwayman.  
The Highwayman (see appendix D) is the leader of the dusk elves. His hovel has a vestibule decorated with trinkets taken off those found dead or in Edelwood Slumber in the woods. Wooden statuettes of two elven children stand and play together in cubbyholes along one wall. The Highwayman carves them himself when he wakes from his nightmares.  
The Highwayman confesses that he's burdened by dreams sent to him by his dead sister, Patty, whose spirit has languished in the Elder Edelwood for centuries. The Highwayman has never been able to let her go, paving the way for the mist to connect the siblings and turn the Highwayman's heart to despair. He believes that Patty's torment and his own cannot end unless he brings her back to life, stealing her spirit from the fog.  
If the characters seem intent on destroying the Beast, the Highwayman offers to help if they first help him. Patty has sent him dreams of Winter Place. He believes there must be something there that can restore her to life.  
The Highwayman wears a ring of warmth, taken from a Slumberer, and has a leather-bound spellbook containing all the spells he has prepared (see appendix D) plus the following spells: arcane lock, comprehend languages, hold person, identify, locate object, nondetection, polymorph, protection from evil and good, ray of frost, and wall of stone.  
If your card reading reveals a treasure here, it's in the Highwayman's possession. He gives it to the characters only if they promise to accompany him to Winter Place and help him bring Patty back from the dead.

N9B. Dusk elf hovels  
Six hovels surrounded by ditches like waterless moats ring the base of the hill. Three protrude from the north side and three from the south side.  
Text: 'A gray-cloaked figure stands in front of the door to this hovel. They shake their head upon catching your eye, their smile friendly but sad.'  
The cloaked figure is a guard (N dusk elf). If the characters appear friendly and are looking for someone to talk to, the guard directs them to the Highwayman's ditch (area N9a).  
Under no circumstances will the guard allow strangers to enter the house they protect. Each hovel is configured similarly to the Highwayman's. All are currently unoccupied. Except for the nine guards left to watch the hovels, the dusk elves are searching for Arabelle.

N9C. Fungai tent  
Text: 'Piled outside the wagon are clumps of mulch swept into neat piles. Murmurs and soft sobbing comes from inside the tent. Three sputtering campfires fill the tent with smoke, and through the haze you see six, travel-dirtied Fungai sitting on the grass. They eat ravenously with their bare hands.  
A large, middle-aged male Fungai in studded leather stands in front of the central tent pole. His hulking frame blocks out the one softly sobbing.'  
The larger Fungai is Igor, an assassin, while the smaller and slimmer one who crying for Arabelle is his brother, Mr. Lou. The six scouts have just returned from long and nonstop travels through the woods in search of Arabelle.

Dealing with Mr. Lou  
Mr. Lou is a terror-stricken parent who is desperately fighting down his fear that he'll never see his daughter again. As she's only 7-years-old, he's never let the precocious child out of his sight, but she slipped away in perilous night in her reckless fearlessness.  
Mr. Lou, a commoner rather than a scout, stays in the camp where his brother, Igor, watches him to ensure that he doesn't fall into Edelwood Slumber. 12 Fungai scouts are out searching for Arabelle in the woods. Every hour, 1d4 return to the camp with no results.  
If an alarm is sounded 9 more Fungai scouts emerge from three of the surrounding wagons (area N9g), and arive at the tent with weapons drawn in 2 rounds.  
Mr. Lou doesn't dare aid the characters against the Beast, though he won't stop them unless they threaten the Fungais. He asks only that they help him find his daughter. In exchange, he agrees to do business with them.  
In gathering mulch, the Fungais have collected many more items that they can sell. Mr. Lou sells Adventuring Gear, anything on the table 1000 gp or less, but there's a 50% chance that he doesn't have the item requested on the particular day asked. The chance resets every dawn. Additionally, any large, bulky item had to be broken down for transport and is left to the PCs to repair.  
If the PCs return Arabelle, Mr. Lou gives them a turkey wagon (but not the turkeys) full of items that non-Fungais find valuable. The Fungais had intended to offer them to the folks at Tavern Town but, "They don't like us 'failed taverners' anyway, so we reckon a bit of their treasure won't change that."

N9D. Giant turkeys  
Text: 'The hilltop is plastered with a layer of turkey droppings. More than two dozen giant turkeys are tethered to stone blocks inside the circle of wagons but outside the tent.'

N9E. Mr. Lou's wagon  
Text: 'The wagon contains a roomy seating area the at front, large enough for several Fungais to lie down to rest. The back is deep and full of mulch. The pungent odor brings tears to your eyes.'

N9F. Wagon of sleeping Fungais  
There are four of these wagons at camp.  
Text: 'You hear heavy snores from within this wagon.'  
Each of these wagons contains 1d4 resting Fungai scouts. They wake if the wagon is shaken or they take damage and have at least 1 hit point remaining.

N9G. Wagon of storytelling Fungais  
There are three of these wagons at camp.  
Text: 'Loud voices and laughter spill from this pungent wagon.'  
Each of these wagons contains three Fungai scouts. They are telling wild stories and tales to each other, though the tales are built on grains of truth. The characters can receive fanciful and highly elaborated versions of histories this way. If they stop to listen, however, the Fungais will peer pressure them to regale them with tales of their own: "Story! Story! Story!"

N9H. Family wagon  
There are three of these wagons at camp.  
Text: 'The raucous screams and laughter of children exploding from this wagon assault your ears.'  
Each of these contains one Fungai adult commoner and 1d4+1 Fungai children (noncombatants). The adult is watching the children as they play, acting as judge, jury, and referee.

N91. "Treasure" wagon  
Text: 'Not mulch but fine and well-made containers fill the back of this wagon. There's not even a trace of the pungent mulch odor.'  
The Fungai have stockpiled items they know that the townsfolk of Tavern Town find valuable in the hopes of gaining some good will. Many, including Igor and Mr. Lou, believe this will ultimately be a futile effort, but any theft of these items will provoke the camp to attack.  
The wagon contains the following:  
-A wooden chest containing 1200 ep in Tavern Town's currency item  
-A metal chest containing 650 gp in Adelaide's currency item  
-A stone chest containing 500 gp in Pottsfield's currency item  
-A small wooden box with three potions of healing  
If your card reading reveals that a treasure is here, it is lying with the other items in the wagon.

Tavern Town, Special Events  
Any of the following can occur while the characters are staying in Tavern Town.

Togetherness Festival  
The next "Togetherness" festival takes place three days after the characters first arrive in Tavern Town. You can delay the festival if the characters get waylaid or drawn elsewhere, or you can advance the timeline if the characters seem to be in a hurry.  
Text: 'Despite the sky's dark threat of rain, a muscial procession marches most mechanically through the muddy streets. Children throw flowers on cue, paving the way for the lines of men and women clapping like living metronomes or playing instruments. The jaunty rhythm never changes, the melody repeating over and over and over.  
They gather round the hand-holding statue in the town square. The crowd parts in practiced unison, needing only a single step to one side or the other. The burgomaster, holding the hand of the woman in the statue, her face forming the exact same scar of a smile, walks forward. They turn around to face the crowd, replicating the unliving sculpture behind them.  
Two servers in gaudy clown costumes present the two with a giant wicker ball on a rope. Clowns behind the statue hoist it up from the hands of the burgomaster and the lady into the stone hands of their counterparts. A clown places blazing torches into the hands of the two of them.  
"Let us light the fire of togetherness!" cries the burgomaster, brandishing his torch to the sky.  
Heat evaporates from the air. From all around comes a sound like a million marching toy soldiers. Rain drops strike your face, fast and heavy. The torches sputter.  
"No!" cries the burgomaster, throwing his torch at the wicker ball. It spins head over tail as it flies almost in slow motion. With each turn, the flame flickers weaker. The torch hits the ball and drops to the ground, dead.  
A singular laugh erupts from the crowd.'  
The burgomaster immediately has the laugher arrested for "fractious disunity." Everyone is loosed from the stocks to make room for the laugher. At Baron's demand, tavern waste bins are raided for spoiled food. The crowd returns wielding putrid fruits and vegetables and throws them with all the spirit of wind-up toys.  
Development  
If the characters challenge Baron in anyway, he orders them banished. If they protest, he calls the guards to force them out at sword point.  
If the characters lose their weapons, the Feather Friends can help steal them back.  
If the guards fail, Baron and the townsfolk flee to their homes, giving the characters free reign of the town.

Fiona's Wish  
Mr. Lark (see area N4) begins shadowing the characters. Characters who have a passive Wis (Perception) of 14 or higher notice him doing so. If they confront him, he claims that he keeps a watchful eye on all strangers, though doesn't reveal the name of his employer. If the PCs threaten him, he backs off and reports to Fiona after he believes he's not being watched or pursued.  
Fiona is looking for powerful allies to help her oust the burgomaster. If the characters impress Mr. Lark, he tells her and she has him invite them to a private dinner at Watter Tavern. She uses the dinner to determine if they have the strength and resolve to crush Baron.  
If they refuse her, she marks them as enemies and sets out to destroy them.  
Development  
Fiona will unleash her 20 cult fanatics, 10 cultists, and 10 giant goats on the town (not all in the same area), but does not lead them. If the characters have refused them, the Black Turtle cultists seek them out to drive them out of town or kill them if they continue to fight. If the characters have taken Fiona up on her offer, Mr. Lark comes to them and directs them to Burgomaster Tavern, where a disguised Fiona waits for them to help her destroy Baron and his family. Mr. Lark accompanies them.

The Trial of Henny  
The characters can prevent this special event from occuring by killing the Beast's fog-touched fey hiding in the coffin-maker's shop (area N6). If the characters stay in Tavern Town for three days or more and don't destroy them, the Beast visits Henny's shop the following evening and orchestrates an attack, starting with the randomly determined church.  
The Beast's fog-touched fey begin the attack that night. They cling to the outer walls and roof of the St. Andral's church while four swarms of Business Bats enter through the belfry and terrify and exhaust the congregation within. As the tavern patrons flee the church tavern, the Beast's fog-touched fey leap down and attack them.  
During the chaos, the Beast enters the church and is attacked by Lucy the priest. Unless the characters intervene, he kills Lucy before returning to the Elder Edelwood.  
If Lucy dies, the locals bury her body in the cemetery.  
Development  
The attack on the church terrorizes and demoralizes the town. After a few days, the townsfolk form a 50-strong town mob and oust Baron or Fiona Watt and their entire families from Tavern Town. They then burn either tavern. Whichever it is, the mob stands and stares at the fire for the entire three days that it burns. The dawn after the fire dies, half the townsfolk of Tavern Town fall into Edelwood Slumber. For the first time, Fungais are allowed freely into the town. They port the sleeping, sprouting bodies away into the forest to prevent Edelwood trees from taking root and consuming what remains of Tavern Town.


	7. Chapter 7

Chap 7: The Old Grist Mill

The servants of the Beast erected this centuries-old mill to refine the black sap of the Edelwood trees to a pure, black oil. This oil keeps the Beast's Dark Lantern, which holds his soul, burning longer.  
His Woodcutters bring down the Edelwood trees and chop them into lumber to fill their wooden carts. At night, the Woodcutters cease their cutting and bring their lumber-laden carts back to the Old Grist Mill. There, a three-body contingent of Woodcutters crushes the black sap from the wood and sends it through the machinery of refinement. The black Edelwood oil is collected and, every dawn, transported to the Elder Edelwood in the same wooden carts.

The Woodcutters  
There are always three Woodcutters at the mill. Should the characters kill all three, three more come to replace them within the hour. The Beast can create an endless supply of them by budding them off the Budded Root in the Root Tangle of the Elder Edelwood.  
The only way to cut off his supply of Woodcutters would be to destroy the Budded Root. This leaves 10d20 Woodcutters still roaming the Unknown and keeping the Old Grist Mill churning.

Approaching the Mill  
The mill's stone walls appear identical to the magically impassable ones surrounding the Unknown, but they are easily climbed. Wooden floors separate the various levels. There are no lights, since the Woodcutters are merely permanently enlarged Deep Gnomes with darkvision. The Beast has had the entire mill fire-proofed, though any oil burning in the mill won't die down for 24 hours.  
Text: 'Worthwagon Road transitions here from being a winding path through the Barking Mountains to a lazy trail that hugs the mountainside as it descends into a fog-filled valley. In the heart of the valley you see a walled town near the shores of a great mountain lake, its waters dark and still. A branch in the road leads west to a promontory, atop which is perched a grist mill of wood and stone, chugging black smoke.'  
Upon closer investigation: 'The great wooden sails of the mill turn round and round, and you hear the squeaking, cracking grind of wood between stone teeth. A platform stained with black oil encircles the mill above a wooden doorway.'  
Beyond the mill is the Edelwood forest. Once atop the mill's hill, the characters can see a ring of four squat megaliths at the forest's edge.

Areas of the Old Grist Mill  
The following areas correspond to the labels on the ORIGINAL CoS map of Old Bonegrinder on page 127.

O1. Ground Floor  
Text: 'The distinct fumes of black oil from Edelwood trees cloys the air with its thick and clinging burn. The oil itself stains the stone floor and tables with its splatter. The dark fluid squeezes through glass tubeware and metal machines into a large metal drum. Many more drums stand closed opposite the set-up.'  
The ceiling here is 8 ft high. Each of the drums opposite the refining machinery is full of gallons of black, volatile oil. The drum into which the oil now drains is half full. A Woodcutter comes in to monitor the refining process every ten minutes.  
In the darkness beneath one of the stone tables against the wall is a chain devil. It has been bound to the refining machinery by Duff the Diabolist (see the Elder Edelwood). It will not attack unless the PCs try to destroy the set-up and does not follow the PCs outside. It will not protect the Woodcutters.

O2. Grist mill  
Unless lured elsewhere, there is a Woodcutter on watch here. This is where the Woodcutters crush the Edelwood lumber to bleed the sap from it.  
Text: 'You see the bald, pastel-skinned head of a gnome who stands as tall as a human. They wear a lab coat once white but now stained so black with oil that those unsplattered patches appear almost out of place. The crush and crack of wood shakes the floorboards, but this figure remains still as stone.  
The dirt-caked windows allow litle light to enter this eight-foot-high chamber, most of it taken up by large millstones connected to a wooden gear shaft that rises through the ceiling in the center of the room. A stone staircase continues up, shaking with each turn of the great gear.'  
If the Woodcutter notices the characters, they first sign at them with sign language to determine if they have been sent by the Beast. If the characters seem confused or give an obviously wrong response, the Woodcutter run up the stairs to alert the others. All three will then hunt the premises for the characters. If they find them, they fight to the death, but only use nonlethal moves on the charactes. If they subdue the party, they transport them in their wooden carts to the Elder Edelwood.

O3. Bedroom  
The two other Woodcutters are here unless they've been drawn elsewhere.  
Text: 'A thick wooden gear shaft winds up through the the center of this cramped, circular room. You hear nothing over the grinding of its gears and the shaking of the stone walls and wooden floorboards.  
A giant gnome sleeps on heaps of tattered rags. A second sits with their back to a pile of crates. They sharpen a wicked-edged axe in their hands with a whetstone. A neat stack of such axes lie beside them.  
A ladder climbs to a wooden trapdoor in the nine-foot-high ceiling.'  
The tattered rags are former lab coats that met various ill ends caught in the gears of the mill. The crates contain spare parts for the mill and the refinery below. None of the contents are valuable.  
The Woodcutters attack if they perceive the PCs.

O4. Domed Attic  
Text: 'You've reached the grist mill's peak-a domed chamber filled with old machinery. There's barely room to move around without risking entanglement in the massive, grinding gears. They rattle the very teeth in your skull.'  
Characters searching this space must make a DC 10 Str (Athletics) check or be thrown into the gears. Clothing is caught first, but after three failed attempts to get free, the mill grinds flesh and bone.  
If your card reading reveals a treasure here, it's easy to find, buried under some dirt in a corner.

The Megaliths  
The four ancient stones were erected by the original fey population in the Unknown. The four stones depict each of the four sentient races-the dusk elves, the centaurs, the shape-shifters, and the race that has now been completely touched by the fog save for its sole survivor, Granny Lee. The carvings have been weathered and aged to make out clear details. All that can be seen of this fourth race is its featureless but humanoid outline.


	8. Chapter 8

Chap 7: The Inn of Whispers

The Inn of Whispers belongs to the Whispers family, formerly of Tavern Town. The Whispers ancestor fell out of the favor with the Brown-Dams when their tavern, to be renovated years later as the Blue Tavern, began doing a better business than Burgomaster Tavern. The Brown-Dams had the Whispers family run out of town by a mob.  
Now the Whispers family is all but dead, survived only by Auntie Whispers, a powerful archmage and Lorna, (N female commoner, any race) her soon-to-be mist-possessed niece. To help her maintain the inn, Auntie Whispers has constructed a small army of flesh golems and decked them in proper servers's livery.  
The business has suffered, however, with it's location beside the glut of taverns in Tavern Town, as well as Auntie Whispers's idiosyncracy of eating her guests. She is a big believer in waste-not, want-not, and uses the remains to create more flesh golems. She also has a taste for black turtles.  
Lorna, meanwhile is the face of the inn and front desk manager. Though she doesn't have any of the reprehensible idiosyncracies of her aunt, the recent devouring and repurposing of the inn's last guests have left her feeling as guilty as ever about never mentioning Auntie Whispers's proclivities.

Approaching the Inn  
A winding branch of Worthwagon Road meanders up the forested slope of a mountain spur to the old inn, which is perched on high ground overlooking the Edelwood forest and the Loon River valley.  
Text: 'High above the river valley is a promontory upon which looms a massive, turreted inn built like a fairytale fortress. A third of the structure has collapsed, as has part of the roof, but the rest appears intact. A fanciful octagonal tower rises up from the surrounding architecture and fog.'

Areas of the Inn of Whispers  
The following areas correspond to the labels on the ORIGINAL CoS maps of Argynvostholt on pg 131 and 137.

Q1. Bell  
Text: 'A massive bronze bell hangs from a sturdy frame over a ten-foot-wide, ten-foot-high cube of granite.'  
If the characters make a DC 20 Str check they can ring the bell. It summons 2d4 dire dogs from the forest who arrive in 3 rounds, but it also summons a single flesh golem from the inn in 3 rounds. The flesh golem and dire dogs will attack each other unless the characters interfere.

Q2. Main entrance  
Text: 'Flagstone steps flanked by stone railings climb to a landing in front of a pair of tall, wooden doors varnished black. Carved into the lintel above the entrance you read: "Inn of Whispers".'  
The doors are unlocked and can be pushed open to reveal a massive reception area (area Q3).

Q3. Reception desk  
Text: 'A grand staircase leads up to stone balconies held aloft by stone pillars and arches. A tall, faded tapestry depicting a near-featureless humanoid with a finger held to its lips hangs from an iron rod above the staircase landing.  
Six sets of double doors lead from this reception. The light of two chandeliers cast the odd rainbow on the wall from their bell-shaped crystals. Displayed on marble pedestals, are four bronze bells in the shape of a featureless humanoid in a long dress. A reception desk stands between two of the pedestals along the wall. A young woman in a plain blue dress behind the desk gives you a shy but welcoming smile.'  
The young woman is Lorna. She will flee if attacked. Whether killed or not, Auntie Whispers will arrive within 3 rounds of the first attack. If the characters seem friendly, she will guide them anywhere that they wish on the ground floor but will neither leave the inn nor accompany them to any other floor. She will, however, provide directions.

Q4. Turtle terrarium  
Text: 'The floor is carpeted with a slow-moving mass of small, black-shelled turtles. They perch on all manner of rocks, logs, and other crawling obstacles brought in from the outdoors. The curves of the turrets have been opened through the walls, allowing fresh air and low fog to flow over their shallow, turtle-filled pools of water.'  
The turtles will part for Lorna and Auntie Whispers, closing their ranks behind the last to follow either of the two. They will not part if the players try to enter the terrarium without Lorna or Auntie Whispers, creating difficult but non-hostile terrain.

Q5. Ruined stable  
Text: 'Here lie the blackened beams of wooden turkey stable, burned to its stone foundation.'  
There is nothing of value in the stable. If the characters have Auntie Whispers pledge to fight the Beast, she or Lorna may explain that one of the patons put up a fight when Auntie Whispers tried to eat them. The patron burned with the stables rather than run into the arms of the waiting flesh golems.

Q6. Smoker's den  
Text: 'A cold, dark hearth dominates the west wall of this den between two narrow windows. Divans, chairs, and ottomans face away from the hearth. Standing upright against the north wall is a cabinet varnished with black sap.'  
The cabinet contains spare pipes and various dried smokeables.  
A secret door at the north end of the east wall can be pushed open to reveal a storage room (area Q11).  
If accompanied by Lorna, she discourages them from lighting the fire though won't say why. She will non-violently attempt to stop them if they try it, but will refuse to explain until after the fireplace has been lit or the characters have Auntie Whisper's pledge.  
Living fire  
A patron later devoured by Auntie Whispers cursed the fireplace so that any fire in the fireplace turns hostile. If the characters approach the fireplace: 'A fire erupts in the dead hearth and assumes the form of a hollow, gaping face.'  
The PCs roll iniative. The fire acts on initiative count 10 and has AC 15, 1 hit point, and immunity to fire, poison, and psychic damage. If it is reduced to 0 hit points, it explodes and fills the room with fire, setting everyhing alight. Each creature in the room must make a DC 12 Dex saving throw, taking 22 (4d10) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.  
The fire doesn't attack. On its first turn, if it hasn't been reduced to 0 hit points, it speaks: "Run! Save yourselves!" Afterward, the fire burns out.  
If Lorna is killed, Auntie Whispers will not help the characters unless they bring her niece back to life.

Q7. Parlor  
Text: 'Violet, velvet drapes faded by sunlight cover the tall, slender windows that encircle this parlor. A bronze chandelier hangs from the ceiling, which is covered with a faded mural that depicts a near-featureless humanoid holding one finger to its lips.'  
The furnishings are faded and careworn but comfortable.

Q8. Iron gate  
An iron gate, chained shut, closes off a 10-ft-tall archway on the north wall of the inn. Auntie Whispers holds the key, but the lock can be picked by thieves's tools with a DC 20 Dex check. The old lock can also be smashed b a character who uses a bludgeoning or slashing weapon and makes a DC 15 Str check. Opening the iron gates makes a loud, rusty creak that summons a flesh golem to investigate within 3 rounds.  
Ten-ft-high flights of stone steps to the west and east of the archway lead up to landings and doors to areas Q7 and Q9.

Q9. Servers's quarters  
Text: 'Heavy violet drapes cover the windows of this circular room, and a heavy curtain hangs across an archway to the south. Half a dozen meticulously made but dusty beds and other dusty pieces of furniture stand against the walls.'  
This room hasn't been used since the inn last had humanoid servers, when Auntie Whispers was a young child. The current flesh golem servers have no need to sleep. Lorna may explain this room but will avoid mentioning the flesh golems. If the characters bring up th flesh golems, she pretends to have no idea that the inn's servers are not humanoids.

Q10. Kitchen  
Text: 'This spotless kitchen holds tidy stacks of dishes and neat rows of utensils hanging from the walls but is noticeably cold. Narrow windows flanking a hearth look out over a cemetary. An open pot hangs from a hook inside the blackened fireplace. It rattles on its hook as though something moves from within.'  
The iron pot contains an ordinary, small black turtle. If accompanied by Lorna, she runs to the pot and helps it out. She returns to the kitchen after finishing the tour of ground floor to make dinner for them and herself. It's here, making their futile sustenance, that she is weakened by despair at the thought of the PCs's fate at Auntie Whispers's hands. The mist takes hold of her and she becomes mist-possessed. She leaves the fire on the hearth and the kitchen in a state of mid-preparation, headed for area Q36.

Q11. Spirit storage  
Text: 'Five barrels lie in wooden braces along the walls of this dark, damp storage room.'  
The alcohol in the barrels has turned to vinegar as neither Lorna nor Auntie Whispers drink, nor do the patrons tend to last long enough to enjoy more than the odd pint.  
Inside one of the barrels is the body of a patron who tried to hide from Auntie Whispers but died from his wounds. His body sunk into the vinegar and has been pickled. Lorna will be genuinely surprised and disturbed by the finding. Auntie Whispers will remark, "So that's where he went! No matter. I hear pickles are good for the gut."  
A secret door at the north end of the west wall can be pulled open to reveal the den (area Q6).

Q12. Dining hall  
Text: 'A 20-ft-long table with clawed, bronze feet on its legs stands in the center of the hall. The chairs that surround the table have backs carved out in the shape of a woman with a bell-shaped dress. The crystal chandelier above glows with a soft white light that casts rainbows on the walls through its bell-like crystals.  
Five sets of wooden doors lead to this hall. The doors in the northeast corner hang open. A pair of leaded glass doors stand open between panels of stained glass set intot he east wall. The panels depict a shadow humanoid ringing a massive bell with a mallet while another shadowy humanoid holds a finger to their lips. Beyond the glass doors lies a dark, misty room.'  
A continual light spell was cast on the chandelier long ago and has never been dispelled.  
If accompanied by Lorna, she will run to shut the doors to the misty room. She will non-violently attempt to stop the characters if they continue onward. She will say nothing about the contents of the room save a single, hushed plea: "Please, Auntie Whispers just put them to sleep."

Q13. Holding room  
Lorna will not enter this room but will run to get Auntie Whispers if the characters enter. Auntie Whispers returns without Lorna in 3 rounds.  
Text: 'Wooden pillars varnished black support a wooden, U-shaped balcony that overhangs this stone-walled chamber. Narrow archways lead to spiral staircases that curl up to the balcony, and a door set into the north wall has a woodn beam barring it. At the east end of the chapel rests a stone table flanked by empty, bronze candelabras. Tall, arching windows set with panels of stained glass decorate the walls behind the table. They've been broken and shattered in places, allowing thick fog to enter and fill the room. Three lumpy figures slump under the table, chains running from manacles around their limbs to the stone legs of the tables.'  
The figures are three former fey twisted by the mist and song into night hags. They came from the forest to investigate the last extremely loud toll of the front bell and saw Lorna. They tried to take her but were quickly overpowered by Auntie Whispers and her flesh golems.  
The night hags wake if any of the characters fail a DC 10 Dex (Stealth) check. They break free of their chains in 1d4 rounds. When Auntie Whispers arrives, she will focus on putting the three back to sleep.  
Afterward, if the characters are still around, she offers to show the characters to rooms on the second floor. She sends 1d4 flesh golems come to them in the night and try to bind them, but they aren't very stealthy. PCs with a passive Perception 10 or above wake at their approach and may attempt to fight or flee.  
Auntie Whispers will continue to send flesh golems until all 9 have been destroyed, trapped, or knocked out. Only then will she come to converse or parley with the PCs.  
The balcony (area Q24) is 20 ft high and can be reached by climbing either spiral staircase (area Q14).  
The bar across the north door is easily lifted from this side. Once the bar is removed, the door can be pulled open to reveal a stone staircase leading down to a cemetery (area Q15).

Q14. Staircase  
Text: 'Narrow windows allow dim light to enter this 5-ft-wide spiral staircase.'  
The staircase leads from the holding room (area Q13) to the balcony (area Q24) and climbs another 20 ft to a small, empty room with a window that looks down on the holding room.

Q15. Cemetery  
Text: 'Tucked behind the inn is a fog-shrounded cemetery enclosed by a 7-ft-tall fence of wrought iron. In the northeast corner stands a mausoleum.'  
The graves belong to the members of the Whispers family while the mausoleum, described in area Q16, belongs to the Whispers who founded the inn.  
A stone staircase curls up from the outside of a turret to a flagstone landing in front of a sturdy wooden door. The door is barred from the inside and opens into the chapel (area Q13).

Q16. Whispers Mausoleum  
Text: 'Gargoyles shaped like women in bell-like dresses cling to the stone-tiled roof of the mausoleum. An 8-ft-tall, 4-ft-wide white marble door set into the southwest wall is engraved with the name: Whispers.'  
The stone door can be pulled upon with a successful DC 15 Str check.  
Text: 'The interior of the mausoleum is dark and dusty. You see four empty alcoves with raised floors. At the center of the room is a marble sarcophagus in the shape of a near-featureless woman in a bell-like dress. A bronze handbell sits atop the marble.'  
The bell makes a heavy, dull thunk if rung as the hammer is a black sapphire worth 1000 gp in any settlement's currency item. It is not valuable but if a detect magic spell is used, it emits a powerful aura of necromantic magic. The bell contains a single, modified Soul Bind spell that can be cast only on joined spirits within mist, such as those that cause the possession of a mist-possessed.  
A user may release those spirits on will. If directing the bell at a particular living creature, the spirits will attempt to possess them.  
Neither Auntie Whispers nor Lorna have ever been inside the mausoleum, but Auntie Whispers can check and understand the nature of the bell if it is brought to her.

Q17. West staircases  
Text: 'Narrow windows illuminate this dusty, 5-ft-wide spiral staircase.'  
These staircases connect the second-floor balconies (area Q18) to areas Q30 and Q36 on the third floor.

Q18. Balconies  
Text: 'Two stone balconies flank the main foyer. Balusters carved to resemble women in bell-shaped dresses support the elegant, airy stone railings. Bells carved in alabaster flank hallways that lead north and south away from the foyer. At the west end of each balcony is an archway hat leads to a spiral staircase going up.'  
The blacony is 20 ft above the floor of the foyer (area Q3).

Q19. Bedchambers  
Text: 'The south end of this room appears to have been blown outward, but waterproof tarps have been stretched across the openings. Violet drapes hang on either end of the tarp. The beds and other furnishings appear to be intact.'  
There are two of these rooms. The only difference is that in the second room that the characters visit, the violet drapes have been drawn across the section exploded outward to hide the tarp.  
The last patrons in these rooms were miners who used their explosives to blow out the walls when trapped by flesh golems. They did not, however, survive the fall into the terrarium below.

Q20. South alcove  
Text: 'A violet velvet curtain hangs in front of an alcove in the southeast corner of this hall. It ripples ever so slightly.'  
One of the narrow windows in the back of the alcove has a broken glass pane through which a slight breeze passes, causing the curtain to move.  
When the characters look behind the current: 'A black cloth has been thrown over a bulky shape beneath a broken window.'  
Under the cloth is a broken carving of an alabaster bell.

Q22. Bathroom  
Text: 'The room contains an iron tub and has wood paneling on the walls that rises to a height of 3 ft. Above the paneling, the walls are painted with a continous, faded mural of an evergreen and snow-capped mountainscape.'  
The mural accurately depicts the Barking Mountains.

Q23. Storage room  
Text: 'Changes of towels, pillows, and sheets are neatly stacked on the wooden shelves that hang from the walls.'  
There is nothing of value here.

Q24. Balcony  
Text: 'This wooden balcony overhangs the inn's holding room. A massive bell carved in wood rests at the west end between two doors, and narrow archways lead to spiral staircases going up and down. Hanging from the high ceiling is a chandelier whose bell-shaped crystals cast rainbows on the walls.'  
The sides of the bell have been intricately detailed and show the stages of a group of featureless humanoids leaving a walled town on a hill (Tavern Town), journeying on the road, and building the inn.  
The doors behind the throne lead to areas Q20 and Q21. A wooden railing surrounds the balcony, which is 20 ft above the floor of the holding room (area Q13).

Q25. Cursed hallway  
Text: 'This T-shaped hallway has branches to the west, east, and south. Three arched windows in the north wall look out over the foogy grounds.'  
The ceiling is 20 ft high. The wooden doors to area Q27 and Q28 are locked, requiring a successful DC 20 Str check to break down. The 10-ft squares in front of the doors (marked T on the ORIGINAL CoS map) are cursed by a past patron. When a character enters one of these squares, a floor-to-ceiling wall of stone (created by the spell) magically appears across the opening on the south wall. At the same time, the vengeful hell hounds in areas Q27 and Q28 rush through the doors (which can be freely opened from their side) and attack.  
The wall of stone vanishes after 10 min, at which time the trap resets. Characters who cast detect magic in the hall sense hazy auras of evocation magic in front of the doors.

Q26. Auntie Whispers's room  
The door to this room hangs open.  
Text: 'A large bed with a violet canopy stands against the wall. A rug embroided with a near-featureless humanoid with a finger to their lips lies on the floor in front of it. Set into the far wall is a fireplace black with soot.'  
If one or more characters approach within 10 feet of the fireplace, they notice black turtle shells inside the fireplace. Auntie Whispers always eats a few as a midnight snack.  
Her turtle-eating habits have made her a mortal enemy of the Black Turtle cult. If Auntie Whispers is with the PCs while any servant of the Beast successfully spies on them, all members of the cult will be informed of her eating habits the next day. Should the characters encounter any such cultists, they will focus their attacks on Auntie Whispers. If within the Elder Edelwood, they will not try to kill her but subdue her and bring her to the Black Turtle room to be judged and executed by their turtle-eater-killer artifact.

Q27. Doomed quarters  
Text: 'This room is littered with the wreckage of bunk beds. 5 dirt-caked windows allow precious little light to enter, and between them are four empty cupboards, the doors wrenched off their hinges.'  
Four hell hounds haunt this room. They stay here or enter the hall when characters trigger the trap in area Q25. They are not bound to these rooms. They were called into the Unknown much like the players and befriended the patron who created the wall trap in their last ditch attempt to kill Auntie Whispers and her flesh golems. They now stay here, mourning their devoured master. Neither flesh golems nor Auntie Whispers dares to clean them out.

Q28. Doomed quarters  
Text: 'Ragged violet drapes cover the windows of this circular room. Broken bunk beds and cabinets torn asunder litter the floor.'  
Five more hell hounds haunt this room, the same as the others. All nine hell hounds were once part of their befriended master's dog-sledding team. Now they're determined to spend eternity here mourning their devoured master.  
Buried under the wreckage is a small wooden coffer containing four potions of invulnerability.

Q29. Lorna's room  
Text: 'The contents of this room are draped in cobwebs. Between curtained windows stands a black marble hearth with a sculpted mantelpiece. Above the hearth is a portrait of a family in violet dressing, one of the women holding a baby. This woman and the man beside her bear a striking resemblance to Lorna.  
Opposite the fireplace is a large bed with an extra blanket of dust. Across from the double doors stands a tall wardrobe, its doors hanging open, revealing its emptiness.'  
There is nothing valuable in the room.  
Lorna, too disturbed by the marching of the flesh golems to the guest rooms at night, sleeps in the turtle terrarium.

Q30. Curtained staircase  
A heavy violet curtain conceals an archway leading to a spiral staircase that descends to area Q17.  
At the top of the stiars is a secret door that can be pulled open to reveal area Q36 beyond.

Inn of Whispers, Upper Levels

Q31. East staircases  
A round-topped wooden door opens to reveal a spiral staircase with narrow windows set into its walls. The stair connects the third floor and the inn's roof.

Q32. Ruined bedchambers  
These two rooms stand across from each other, separated by a ruined corridor that abruptly ends to the south of their doors.  
Text: 'Most of this chamber has collapsed. The wooden floor is strewn with rubble and falls away into a foggy abyss to the south. The roof overhead is jagged and broken.'  
The floor is 40 ft above the floor of the terrarium (area Q4). The roof is 20 ft overhead.  
These used to be the rooms of Lorna and Auntie Whispers before a group of patrons ran to this floor from the flesh golems, taking the battle with them. Auntie Whispers and Lorna moved to the second floor where they roomed the guests though Lorna eventually transferred to the terrarium.

Q33. Collapsed ceiling  
Text: 'The roof over this part of the inn has collapsed, creating a 20-ft-diameter gaping hole with broken rafters bisecting it. Dark storm clouds roll across the sky overhead. The floor is piled with rocks, broken tiles, shattered beams, and other debris. Beneath the rubble lie a sagging floor and puddles of rainwater.'  
Patrons climbed up to the roof through the windows while flesh golems climbed up the walls of the room and brought down the roof from the inside. None of the patrons survived.

Q34. Ruined bathroom  
Text: 'This room has a tiled floor and an iron bathtub filled with debris from the collapsed roof. A torn curtain hangs in an open doorway in the center of the east wall.'  
This used to be Lorna and Auntie Whispers's private bathroom before the flesh golems brought down the room.

Q35. Upstairs gallery  
Text: 'This room has wood panelling varnished black that rises to a height of 3 ft. Above the paneling, the walls are painted with murals of a tavern in a town on a hill surrounded by a wooden palisade. Shadowy humanoids look on with hands on their hips as many others come and go from the doors of the Bell Tavern.  
In the center of the west wall is a heavy violet curtain hanging in an open doorway. Opposite the wall, three tall, slender stained-glass windows feature a near-featureless humanoid with a finger held to their lips.'

Q36. Ruined library  
Text: 'The west wall of this 50-ft-long, 30-ft-wide chamber has collapsed, leaving a gaping hole and piles of rubble. Dark, wooden bookcase have fallen to the floor where they lie and rot. Damp, ruined books form a carpet of litter and fill the ruins with their moldy odor.  
Only one large bookcase still stands, looming under three tall windows to the west.'  
If the characters have not killed Lorna and approach the bookcase: 'You hear the sound of heavy breathing from behind its rows of mold-jacketed books.'  
Lorna has become mist-possessed and will attack the characters if they come within 5 ft of her. As they approach she grows clearly more agitated and twitchy as the last of her self-control tries to protect the inn's latest guests. She lets out the inhuman scream of the dozens of spirits possessing her through the mist as she attacks. This summons 4 flesh golems to defend her within 3 rounds. The flesh golems do not come if the characters have made a deal with Auntie Whispers to free her niece of the mist in exchange for Auntie Whispers's might against the Beast.  
If your card reading reveals a treasure here, it's now in Lorna's possession, and she doesn't part with it until freed of the mist.

Q37. Private dining room  
Auntie Whispers eats the inn guests here.  
Text: 'Faded tapestries adorn the walls of this spacious chamber, in the center of which stands a heavy wooden table. A bronze chandelier hangs above the table, casting rainbows down its six wooden chairs. Five massive humanoids stand behind five of the chairs. In the sixth sits a large, bulge-eyed woman sucking a finger-like set of bones.'  
The tapestries depict the same, near-featureless humanoid with a finger to its lips as the lower floors, but these are much older.  
The five are flesh golems awaiting orders from Auntie Whispers after she finishes the last of the last patron. She takes 1d4 minutes to finish. If the characters attempt to interrupt her in any way, she sets the flesh golems on them. Once finished, she calls the flesh golems off if any still live.  
Development  
If Lorna is dead or has become mist-possessed, Auntie Whispers is aware of it. She pretends any past interaction with her and the characters hasn't taken place and asks them to help her niece-either by bringing her back to life or fighting off the mist.  
If your card reading reveals that Auntie Whispers is the Beast's enemy, she falsely agrees to help you if you save her niece. Once Lorna is saved, she will pretend she has no knowledge of any such bargain, though the PCs can persuade Lorna to ask Auntie Whispers for her help. Auntie Whispers will be unable to refuse the niece whom she nearly lost.  
If the characters have met Auntie Whispers in the fight against the night hags, the flesh golems who come to their rooms attempt to bring them back to this dining room so that Auntie Whispers can ask for their help.  
Auntie Whispers herself will not attack unless threatened.

Q38. Closet  
Text: 'This closet has a narrow window set into the north wall. Neatly folded clothes line the shelves.'  
The clothes belong to Auntie Whispers and Lorna and are of no value.

Q39. Nursery  
Text: 'Light enters this circular room through five windows. The light falls on an empty cradle blanketed by dust. Two large stuffed animals flank the double doors. One is a brown bear standing on its hind legs, metal claws outstretched. The other is a dog, a vicious snarl stitched onto its face.'  
This room once served as a nursery for the Whispers children. The stuffed animals were made by Mr. Toymaker and have the slogan "No Fun for You!" stitched on their rumps.

Q40. Cannibal kitchen  
Text: 'This room is a haven for oversized cookware and implements that appear more suited to torture than the culinary arts. Three narrow windows allow slivers of light to illuminate the neat rows, tidy cabinets, and large, sturdy chopping tables. A great black cauldron fills a cavernous, unlit hearth. In the south corner of the west wall is an iron door.'  
This is where flesh golems prepare Auntie Whispers's humanoid meals. As she is just finishing the last of the latest patron, the kitchen is near spotless. The cauldron is empty but smells of the last savory stew it held.

Q41. Ice box  
The iron door to this room is shut but not locked, as those people or parts taken to the ice box are already dismembered.  
Text: 'The frigid metal walls of this room are coated with frost. Massive blocks of ice have been stacked around the room. Sharp, meat hooks hang from the ceiling, empty.'  
There are enough hooks to hold each member of the party.

Q42. Laboratory  
Text: 'An arcane circle has been etched into the stone at the center of this room. Arcane sigils form a net of ink along the walls, the ceiling, and the floor connecting to the circle.'  
A detect magic spell reveals a powerful aura of enchantment magic.  
It is here that Auntie Whispers creates the flesh golems. The circle is currently inactive, but if the PCs have Auntie Whispers's pledge of aid and the night hags are dead, they can watch Auntie Whispers create a flesh golem construct out of their body parts.

Q43. Hole in roof  
This 20-ft-diameter hole in the inn's roof is directly above area Q33, the floor of which is 20 ft below. The rubble on the roof surrounding the hole is difficult terrain. The roof is sloped and covered with cracked stone tiles. Climbing the tiled roof requires a successful DC 10 Str (Athletics) check. A failure by 5 or more causes the climber to slide down to the parapet, landing prone but taking no damage.

Q44. Stone Belle  
Text: 'Watching over the rooftop and parapet is a stone-carved statue of a near-featureless woman in a bell-shaped dress.'  
The statue, Belle, was made in the image of the Whispers ancestor cast out of Tavern Town. Weather has worn her features down to near nothing. The statue was made while the Whispers were still in Tavern Town and hugely successful. They transported it with them to the new inn. All other depictions of Belle were made after the weather damage, obscuring her likeness.  
The statue is 10 ft above the parapet and has a magic mouth spell cast on it. When a character passes in front of it, the spell is activated and Belle sings an eerie recording of voice and bell tolls.

Q45. Old gazebo  
Text: 'An old wooden gazebo, rotted by weather and time, stands on this tower rooftop.'  
The gazebo falls apart if disturbed.

Q46. Destroyed gazebo  
Text: 'Stream atop the roof toward the front of the inn is the wreckage of a gazebo. Flanking the wreckage are two stone turrets with conical rooftops and narrow doors.'  
Patrons who fled to the roof and tried to hide in this gazebo caused its unintentional collapse.

Q47. Roof turrets  
Text: 'Cobwebs hang from the rafters of this turret, which is empty except for a wooden bench and an iron stove.'  
A patron hid here successfully for three days, surviving on rainwater and the few raw turtles they'd grabbed, but was discovered after they stole the iron stove from the kitchen.

Q48. Roof's edge  
Text: 'Beyond a ragged edge of stone is a 60-ft plunge to the rubble-strewn ground below. A few rafters stick out from beneath the stone.'  
The edge of the roof is sturdy enough to walk on. It's 20 ft down to area Q32, 40 ft to area Q19, and 60 ft to area Q4.

Q49. Tower door  
Text: 'The parapet narrows to a width of 10 ft, ending before a sturdy wooden door set ino the wall of the eastern tower.'  
This door is barred from the inside. Any destruction to the door is heard by the flesh golems in area Q52, who come down to investigate.

Q50. Lower landing  
Text: 'A rickety wooden landing and a staircase cling to the walls of this tower. The stairs lead up to another landing 20 ft above, and the floor of the holding room lies 60 ft below.'  
The landing and stairs creak and shudder underfoot, but they are safe.

Q51. Upper landing  
Text: 'Creaky stairs climb to a wooden landing with three windows that look out over the roof of the inn. Flanking the windows are two narrow wooden doors.'  
The landing creaks and groans underfoot but isn't safe. The 10-ft-long section marked T on the ORIGINAL CoS map is particularly weak after past combat in the bell tower. It collapses under 50 or more lbs. A creature on that section when it collapses must succeed on a DC 15 Dex save or fall 20 ft to the landing below. The collapse creates a 10-ft gap in the landing.  
The doors lead to the rooftops of the turrets (area Q52).

Q52. Turrets  
Text: 'A stone walkaround encloses the roof of this turret. A spiral staircase descends to the level below.'  
These turret rooftops are 80 ft above ground level. The spiral stairs descend 20 ft to small equipment sheds. None of the repair tools in the sheds are valuable. In each of these rooms is a flesh golem doing an inventory check before the long process of repairing the roof.

Q53. The bell tower  
Text: 'Wooden stairs climb to the tower's peak, which has a stone floor and a 30-ft-high pitched roof. Below the crisscrossing rafters is a massive frame hooked to a system of weights and pulleys above.'  
The giant bronze bell down below used to be housed here, but Auntie Whispers had the flesh golems move it down to the grounds after multiple patrons tried to use the bell as a weapon.  
If your card reading reveals a treasure is here, it's resting against a post of the frame that held the bell.

Inn of Whispers, Special Events  
You can use one or both of the following events as the characters explore the inn.

Special delivery  
This encounter occurs while the characters are inside the inn. Those who have passive Wis (Perception) of 11 or higher hear the bock of turkeys and the cruch of wagon wheels on gravel.  
A turkey wagon pulled by a Fungai commoner stops in front of the inn. The Fungai drops off a wooden coffin at the front door and leaves immediately. If any try to speak with them, they flee faster.  
The coffin was made in Tavern Town by the local coffin maker, Henny, and commissioned by the Beast. It has the name of a randomly determined PC chiseled on its lid. Opening the coffin releases a swarm of Business Bats from within. They attack the character whose name is on the coffin. If the character isn't in sight, they fly away to find the named PC.

Igor's hunt  
Beatrice (see appendix D) arrives at the Inn of Whispers on the back of a giant turkey stolen from the Fungai camp outside Tavern Town (Chap 5, area N9). She has heard that the tavern might harbor enemies of the Beast and contain secrets to the Beast's destruction.  
Once she arrives, Beatrice releases the giant turkey (which flees back to its camp) and makes her way through the inn until she reaches the characters.  
Hot on Beatrice's trail are Igor (assassin) and two Fungai bodyguards (scouts). All three ride giant turkeys.  
Igor is determined to capture Beatrice and haul her back to the camp to face punishment for turkey theft. He does nothing to antagonize the characters, however, and returns tot he camp if he can't convince them to give her up.


	9. Chapter 9

Chap 9: Pottsfield

The farming village of Pottsfield lies near the edge of the Beast's domain in view of the stone wall that forms the border. The farmers of Pottsfield have erected their own walls against the perils of the Beast which pale in comparison to the perils within the village limits.  
The farmers of Pottsfield are all pumpkin-headed, plant-typed humanoids known as Pumpkinfolk (see below). Centuries ago, Tasha the Farmer, a powerful mage and ally of the Caretaker, brought the first Pumpkinfolk to life from a simple pumpkin patch, forming heads and brain matter from the raw material stored within the pumpkin fruit a humanoid body from the vines. Tasha enchanted the original rootbed of the pumpkin patch so that the Pumpkinfolk could reproduce by grafting parts of themselves to the rootbed. As such, all Pumpkinfolk are genderless. The rootbed grows the new Pumpkinfolk to full physical maturity deep within the soil. After harvesting, it takes from several days to several weeks for a Pumpkinfolk to reach mental maturity. Many never live long enough to see it thanks to the Pumpkin-Eaters on the Hill.  
The Hill looms high above the village and villagers its inhabitants prey upon. Those who live within the village are Pumpkin-Eaters (see appendix D), animal-headed humanoids and vegans with a taste for pumpkin. They are the descendents of the humanoids whom Tasha drove out from the village to make room for her pumpkin patch. They took refuge on the Hill, looking down upon Tasha's village in both fear and hatred. After the Caretaker became the Beast, the fog of Edelwood smoke that accompanied him twisted them and their livestock to meet halfway, physically. Unfortunately, the Pumpkin-Eaters developed their common idiosyncracy for eating Pumpkinfolk around the time of Tasha's death. Without the great mage to protect them, the Pumpkinfolk have forever been at the mercy of those whom their creator displaced.

Areas of Pottsfield  
The following areas correspond to the labels on the ORIGINAL CoS map of Krezk on page 144.

S1. Road junction  
Text: 'The road branches north and climbs a rocky escarpment, ending at a gatehouse built into a 20-ft-high wall of stone. The wall encloses a settlement on the side of a snow-flaked mountain spur.  
The somber toll of a bell comes from a massive stone fortress that clings on a hill against the mountainside, high above the settlement. The steadiness of the chime is inviting-a welcome change from the silent weight of the fog that blankets the Unknown. It's hard to tell from this vantage point, but there seems to be a road clinging to the cliffs that leads from the walled settlement to the foothill fortress.'  
Worthwagon Road continues west from this location for a little over a mile before coming to the impassable stone wall that surrounds the Unknown. Characters who follow the road north arrive at the gatehouse (area S2).

S2. Gatehouse  
Text: 'The air grows crisp and chill as you approach the walled settlement. Two square towers with peaked roofs flank the stone archway of two 12-ft-tall wooden doors. Carved into the arch is a name: Pottsfield.  
The walls that extend from the gatehouse are 20 ft high. Atop the parapet, you see 4 figures wearing unusually orange helmets and clutching spears. Their lightless, gaping eye-holes turn toward you.'  
Cut into the upper floor of each tower is an arrow slit 6-in wide, 4-ft tall, and 1-ft deep. An open doorway leads from the archer's post in each tower to the adjacent parapet. Behind the walls, wooden ladders lead from the parapets to the ground 20 ft below.  
Two archers (LG genderless Pumpkinfolk scouts) are stationed inside the gatehouse, one in each tower. Four guards (LG genderless Pumpkinfolk) man the adjacent walls. If the characters are seen flying or climbing over the walls, the guards assume that the village is under attack and cry out in alarm. Five rounds after the alarm sounds, every Pumpkinfolk villager arrives at the gatehouse, clambering for safety. The eight guards can barely contain the forty Pumpkinfolk commoners flailing their around their scythes, sickles, pitchforks, and the like.  
The double doors are made of thick wood planks and sealed shut with a heavy beam. The beam can be lifted with a successful DC 15 Str check. The doors require a siege engine to break open.  
There aren't enough villagers to defend the outerwall. Every 300-ft stretch is watched over by a single guard. The guards are trained only to crouch and sound the alarm at any sign of danger.

Burgomaster Enoch  
If the characters ask to be let inside or otherwise draw the attention of the guards on the wall, one of the guards fetches the burgomaster, a CN black cat familiar named Enoch, and his CN Pumpkinfolk witch Vegetana, who acts as his speaker.  
Enoch is a lord of a cat and expects to be treated like one. He places his safety above the welfare of strangers. He assumes all non-Pumpkin-Eaters who come to Pottsfield wish to become his subjects. He is willing to permit them such an honor, but demands their attendance at one of Pottsfield's many impromptu dance rituals. Enoch enjoys forcing these dances upon his subjects as a show of his absolute power.

S3. Village of Pottsfield  
When the characters get past the outer wall: 'The mist-shrouded village beyond the wall is nothing more than a scattering of humble cottages along dirt roads that stretch across a vast field of tall, golden grass. To the northeast, gray cliffs rise sharply, and the road winding up the mountain foothill is clear to all.'  
The village operates as a barter-system commune with no exports. Villagers grow vegetables, harvest wood from the forest, raise animals and swap foods with neighbors. A few villagers have cows and giant turkeys. The village has no inns or taverns. Characters who are willing to do manual labor or chores, however, can spend the night under Enoch's roof.

Cottages  
Pottsfield residences are single-story cottages with stone chimneys and thatch roofs. Pigs and chickens are kept in indoor pens and coops so they don't freeze.  
Burgomaster's Cottage  
The building closest to the outer gate is Enoch's cottage-the largest building in town but still a modest dwelling. Enoch lives here with his speaker, Vegetana (CN Pumpkinfolk witch). Vegetana is powerful but never speaks of their own volition, instead voicing only the thoughts and opinions of the great Enoch.  
Commoner Cottages  
A typical cottage is only 200 sq ft yet contains 2d4-1 Pumpkinfolk, plus the family's pigs, hares, and chickens.

Pottsfield Lore  
In addition to the information known to all denizens of the Unknown (see Chap 2), the villagers of Pottsfield also know:  
-Residents never leave the village for fear of being eaten.  
-When Enoch declares a dance, all must dance the impromptu dance. Thus has it been, as it is, and how it shall always be under the great Enoch.  
-Enoch's dances area a time of celebration and meditation for the villagers who may die at any moment.  
-A pool at the north end of the village provides their fresh water. Beside the pool is the Pottsfield barnhouse, where Enoch likes to hold the dances.  
-Though safe from the Unknown within their walls, Pottsfield is still threatened by the Pumpkin-Eaters who live upon the Hill, the structure built on the foothill and into the cliffside of the mountain.  
-The leader of the Pumpkin-Eaters is Abby, who demands a monthly tithe of Pumpkinfolk to keep the peace.  
-The Pumpkinfolk tithed to Abby and the Pumpkin-Eaters are chosen from a lottery often held at the same time as an impromptu dance.

S4. Pool and barnhouse  
Text: 'Even under gray skies, this pool at the north end of the village shimmers and sparkles. Near its shore sits a brightly painted barnhouse. A wooden statue of a cat the size of a human, forelegs raised to the heavens, stands outside the barnhouse.'  
The pool is fed by an underground spring and tastes fresh and sweet. The statue is clearly Enoch.  
If the characters arrive peacefully and accept Enoch's demand to attend a dance, Enoch calls for an impromptu dance immediately. The forty Pumpkinfolk villagers gather within and without the barnhouse to play music and dance. Though the tunes are pleasant and jaunty, the villagers dance with a great sense of purpose, believing the dance to hold much more meaning than simply the fulfillment of a whim of a cat.  
Song reference: watch?v=JMPiZBBd1B0  
If your card reading reveals a treasure here, it is hidden under the barnhouse. The barnhouse must be torn down to reach it, which doesn't sit well with the villagers. If the characters damage the gazebo, any Cha checks they make to shift the attitudes of the villagers have disadvantage unless they comply with Enoch's demands for community service. The sentence: to get rid of all the Pumpkin-Eaters on the Hill and/or ensure that the Pumpkin-Eaters never harm Pottsfield again.

S5. Winding road  
Text: 'The road that hugs the cliff is 10-ft wide and covered with loose gravel and chunks of broken rock. The ascent is slow and somewhat treacherous, and the air grows colder as one nears the top.'  
The road climbs 400 feet, doubling back on itself twice before reaching area S6.

ALTERATIONS/ADDITIONS

Pumpkinfolk

Use the human template but with the following changes:

Race: Pumpkinfolk, plant humanoid  
Speed: 25 ft, this speed is not reduced by difficult forest terrain  
Darkvision: 60 ft  
Vulnerability: fire  
Skill proficiency: Nature  
Vegetative state: Pumpkin folk don't need to sleep. Instead, they go into a restful state for 2 hours.

Pottsfield, Hill Grounds

Areas of the Hill  
The following areas correspond to labels on the ORIGINAL CoS maps of the Abbey of Saint Markovia on pages 149 and 153.  
The Pumpkin-Eaters that live upon the hill are all descendents of the original Pottsfield villagers and their animals whom Tasha the farmer drove from Pottsfield to make room for her magic pumpkins. Abby, leader of the Hill, keeps most of them confined to the Hill because most lack the restraint to leave any Pumpkinfolk alive-such is their great hunger for pumpkin flesh. This would, of course, destroy their delicate ecosystem and force the Pumpkin-Eaters to find another source of vegetable matter, possibly even farm. Abby doubts that any of them have the brains or heart for true labor.  
Abby has two henchman, Otto and Iggy, and a cowardly servant, Clover. Clover rings the bell (area S17) whenever Abby decides it's time for dinner. The toll of the bell causes a howl in all the other animal-headed Pumpkin-Eaters in their excitement to be fed.  
The windows of the north wing are made of leaded glass that is translucent-they let in light but don't allow for seeing through the glass. The windows of the east wing are broken outward, by the Pumpkin-Eaters, who keep putting off repairing them. Yet another reason Abby doesn't trust most of them with manual labor.

S6. North gate  
Text: 'The road from the village climbs above the mists to the wide ledge of the mountain's foothill. The gravel road passes between two small, stone outbuildings, to either side of which stretches a 5-ft-high, 3-ft-thick wall of jumbled stones held together with mortar. Blocking the road are iron gates attached to the outbuildings by rusty hinges. They appear unlocked. Viewed through the gates, the great stone building upon the hill stands quiet. Its two wings are joined by a 15-ft-high curtain wall. A belfry protrudes from the rooftop of the closer north wing, which also sports a chimney billowing gray smoke.'  
The gates are unlocked but squeal loudly when opened.  
Two gate guards are on duty, but they aren't awake when the characters arrive (see below). Characters who succeed on a DC 12 Dex (Stealth) check can climb over the low outer wall without waking them. If one or more characters fail the check, or if the characters open the gates, the guards awaken and stumble forth to confront the trepassers.  
The gate guards are Otto and Iggy, two lawful evil Pumpkin-Eaters (see appendix D). They sleep under piles of animal fur trimmed from the heads of every Pumpkin-Eater upon the Hill during the communal trimmings. Both are loyal to Abby but aren't good at guarding, among other things. If the characters seem friendly, the Pumpkin-Eaters escort them to the courtyard (area S12) and ask the characters to wait there while they fetch Abby (area S13). If the characters seem hostile, the Pumpkin-Eaters let them enter but don't accompany them willingly.

Roleplaying the Pumpkin-Eaters  
All Pumpkin-Folk have the body of a humanoid but the head and neck of an animal.  
Otto  
Otto has the body of a dwarf but the head and neck of a donkey. He can barely speak Common, and his laugh sounds like a donkey's bray. Otto has the Standing Leap feature (see the Pumpkin-Eater stat block in appendix D). He claims: "I am the smartest, wisest, strongest, fastest, and most beautiful person I know."  
Iggy  
Iggy also has the body of a dwarf but the head and neck of a crocodile. She has a gruff voice but rarely speaks more than a handful of words at a time. She has the Darkvision feature (see the Pumpkin-Eater stat block in appendix D). Her philosophy is simple: "Stay down where trouble can't find ya."

S7. Graveyard  
Text: 'Weeds have overtaken every inch of the rocky, earthen graveyard near the foundation of the Hill's north wing. The windows are cracked panes of leaded glass. Ancient gravestones burst from a thin crust of frost in the yard. Beyond the low wall that surrounds the graveyard, the ground falls away. The village lies four hundred feet below, and the view is breathtaking.'  
A name is carved into each rough-hewn gravestone except for one. The name has been scratched away completely. An X has been scratched into the indent. The gravestone, once located outside of Pottsfield, belonged to Tasha, though the Caretaker had her remains taken to the Elder Edelwood. The Pumpkin-Eaters found the gravestone and stole it away to deface it.  
If Tasha's Iron Pumpkin (see Chap 4, area K84) is brought to the gravestone, the stone disintegrates, revealing a ring of regeneration within.

S8. Garden gatehouse  
Text: 'A gatehouse stands at the entrance to the garden bed.'  
The gatehouse is empty, its assigned guard slacking off.

S9. Garden bed  
Text: 'Nestled bewteen rising and plunging cliffs are four rectangular garden plots enclosed by a 5-ft-high wall of mortared stones. Rabbits nibble on turnips uprooted by the cold. Two scarecrows with stuffed gullets and sackcloth heads hang from wooden crosses pounded into the cold, hard earth.'  
If the characters haven't cleared out the east wing, add: 'The east wing looms over the garden, its shattered windows darka nd disturbing. A door leads into this forlorn edifice, which apparently isn't completley abandoned. From within comes laughter and the growls of animals.'  
The rabbits and scarecrows are harmless. The gardens contain a meager assortment of root vegetables and squash, which have only lasted this long because Abby has an idiosyncracy for gardening.  
The door to area S15 isn't locked.  
If your card reading reveals a treasure is here, it's hidden in the straw-filled gullet of the southernmost scarecrow. If the treasure is removed, seven hibernating giant scorpions awaken and erupt from the gardens.

S10. Entrance  
Text: 'A 15-ft-high curtain wall joins the two wings of the building. Behind its battlements, two guards stand at attention, their features obscured by fog. Below them, set into the wall, is a pair of 10-ft-tall, wooden doors.'  
The "guards" on the wall are propped-up scarecrows that wear corroded chain shirts and clutch rusted spears (see area S18). Characters who succeed on a DC 10 Wis (Perception) check discerns the charade. They were placed here by the guards so that they could slack off. The two wear wooden signs which read "I'm watching you."  
The double doors are heavy but unlocked. They can be pushed open to reveal a foggy courtyard (area S12).

S11. Inner gatehouses  
These two empty buildings help support the curtain wall (area S18) that encloses the courtyard (area S12). The wooden doors that lead to them are unlocked.

S12. Courtyard  
Text: 'The thick fog that fills this courtyard swirls, as if eager to escape. The courtyard is surrounded by a 15-ft-high curtain wall on which stand several guards with their backs to you-or so it seemed at first. It's clear now that these guards are merely scarecrows.  
Wooden doors to the northand east lead to either of the two wings. In the center of the courtyard is a stone well fitted with an iron winch, to which a roe and bucket are attached. Along the perimeter, tucked under the overhanging wall, are several stone sheds, as well as three shallow alcoves that contain wooden troughs.'  
If the characters are escorted here by Otto and Iggy, they are asked to wait in the courtyard while the Pumpkin-Eaters fetch Abb from area S13.

S12A. Well  
The well is 80 ft deep. Hiding 20 ft down is a chaotic evil Pumpkinfolk (see appendix D) named Missy. She clings to the wall and scuttles up to attack anyone who shines a light down on him.  
Missy  
Missy has the body of an elf and the head of a spider. She has the Spider Climb feature (see the Pumpkin-Eater stat block in appendix D). She enjoys nothing more than killing and eating anything that falls down the well.

S12B. Old troughs  
These three animal troughs are badly rotted and fall apart if handled or jostled.

S12C. Chicken sheds  
If the characters open a shed: 'This shed holds the shattered remains of several chicken coops. An animal-headed Pumpkin-Eater sleeps curled against the back wall.'  
There are nine of these sheds, each one containing a snoozing Pumpkin-Eater (see appendix D).

S12D. Tethering posts  
A true giant turkey is chained to one post, though the others are empty.  
If the characters approach the turkey: 'The creature chained to the post flaps its wings and takes to the air but doesn't get far before its chains go taut.'  
The turkey is skittish and afraid of everyone and everything except Clover (area S17), whom it allows to come close enough to feed it.

S13. Main hall  
Text: 'Gentle-sounding music trickles down from above, played on a single stringed instrument by some unseen master. The ground floor is one large, 50-ft-sq room with arched, leaded glass windows. A cauldron sits on an iron rack above a fire in a hearth. In one corner, a wooden staircase climbs to the upper level, while in another corner a stone staircase descends into darkness.  
Several chairs surround a wooden table that stretches nearly the length of the room. Wooden dishware and gold candelabras are neatly arranged on the table, standing behind which is a woman cast in metal, dressed in a torn and soiled red gown. Her hairless head looks straight ahead, though her eyes stare blankly.'  
Abby is normally here. If so: 'A humanoid with the head of a cat gently takes the robot by the hand. The Pumpkin-Eater moves with the grace of...a cat.'  
The cat-headed Pumpkin-Eater is Abby (sse appendix D), one of the few Pumpkin-Eaters who possesses the strength of body and mind to devote themselves to pursuits other than eating and sleeping.  
The iron maiden is Wanda Metalman, a clockwork automaton created by Granny Lee. Granny Lee believed Wanda to be a failure and kicked them out of her domain. Wanda spent centuries in aimless wandering until Abby so recently discovered her. Abby has great plans for Wanda, the only one Abby feels she can trust with work and labor.  
Abby is teaching Wanda how to set the table at present. Wanda obeys Abby's command to the best of her ability, which is more than can be said for the Pumpkin-Eaters. If driven berserk, Wanda fights any hostiles until Abby reasserts control or until Wanda is destroyed. She has supernatural strength despite her Medium size.  
Abby has no desire to harm the characters once she determines that they are not, in fact, Pumpkinfolk. She knows that the Beast has brought them to the Unknown to become Edelwood trees and has no intention of standing in his way. Her cool, calm demeanor changes if the characters become hostile or threaten Wanda.  
The music comes from upstairs (area S17). The stone staircase leads down to the cellar (area S16). The wooden stairs climb to the loft and belfry (area S17).  
The stew pot in the fireplace contains several gallons of hearty vegetable stew cooked in pumpkin stock.  
Roleplaying Abby  
Abby believes that she and the other Pumpkin-Eaters are in the right in demanding a tithe of Pumpkinfolk to keep them alive. Now that she has Wanda, she hopes that the Pumpkin-Eaters will no longer have to rely so heavily on the tithe for their survival.  
If the visitors seem friendly, Abby will give them a tour of the Hill, making dry, weary comments about the Pumpkin-Eaters as they come across the slackers. She turns hostile if the characters threaten her or her charges.  
Hidden in a hollow brick above the fireplace is a potion of superior healing. A successful DC 15 Wis (Perception) check while searching around the fireplace discovers the hollow brick.  
The four gold candelabras are worth 250 gp each in any settlement's currency item.  
If your card reading reveals a treasure, it's hidden in the hollow brick with the potion.

S14. Foyer  
Text: 'This room used to be an office, evidenced by the remains of a desk and chair, both of which have been smashed to pieces. A hallway to the south leads to a staircase going up. A dark passage to the east is full of unnatural whispers, wild laughter, and gamey odors.'  
The stairs lead up to area S20.  
If the characters enter this area making noise or carrying light sources, the two owlbears whom the Pumpkin-Eaters have mistaken for Pumpkin-Eaters are drawn out from area S15 (unless they've already been defeated).

Pottsfield, in the Hall of the Pumpkin-Eaters

S15. Living hall  
Text: 'This lightless corridor has multiple doors behind which lie creatures that break the silence with cackling laughter, snores, and other feral noises. The stench is overpowering.'  
Before getting hold of Wanda, Abby searched the areas around Pottsfield for any lost souls drawn into the Unknown with that particular combination of bodily strength but weakness of mind that lent itself to unquestioning manual labor. What she found was a hill giant. While she managed to convince him to obey her, he ended up breaking every farming tool he was given, and thus has been placed solely on guard detail.  
When the characters first see the hill giant: 'Even in the gloom, you can make out a monstrous shape lumbering down the high-ceilinged hall. It whistles a jaunty tune as it approaches, heavy footfalls shaking the stone floor.'  
The hill giant attacks anyone who isn't in the company of Abby or Clover.  
None of the doors along the hall are locked. If the characters open any and look inside, they see that the rooms are dimly lit by natural light that filters through the filthy, dirt-crusted windows. The door at the east end of the hall leads outside and can be pulled open to reveal the garden bed (area S9).  
The sixty Pumpkin-Eaters here are served their food at irregular intervals by Clover. Dinner is heralded by the ringing of the bell (S17). While the Pumpkin-Eaters have not been confined to their rooms, most refuse to leave, as doing so would mean risking being seen by Abby, who would order them to run some errand "for the common good." In addition to a dagger, each Pumpkin-Eater has its own wooden soup bowl.

S15A. Skittish ones  
Text: 'This room was once a shared bedchamber, but its furnishings have been destroyed. Three Pumpkin-Eaters shriek at your approach and run to the corner, cowering in the shadows. One cradles something shiny.'  
The one holds a golden candelabra, taken from Abby's table, which they've been using as a chewtoy. Any attempt to take it causes the Pumpkin-Eaters to attack.

S15B. Quarreling ones  
Text: 'Four Pumpkin-Eaters brawl amid the wreckage of this bedchamber watches from behind the the safety of the up-turned frame of a bed.'  
The four aren't trying to kill each other but assert dominance. If a character tries to stop them, they take it as a sign that the character also wishes to assert dominance and attack that character until the PC either flees or shows submission.  
Close inspection reveals that the bedframe is covered with bite marks.

S15C. Sleepers  
Text: 'Seven Pumpkin-Eaters snore from their pile of warm bodies spilling from the corner over the center of the room.'  
The seven do not awaken unless disturbed and do not attack unless threatened. If no hostility is directed toward them, they fall back asleep before finishing a full sentence.

S15D. Hungry ones  
Text: 'Nine Pumpkin-Eaters stand in the middle of this room, staring at the doorway in silence with hungry looks in their eyes.'  
These nine haven't received their pumpkin stew in days because they keep threatening Clover whenever she doesn't have any to bring and now she's too scared to bring them any. They try to kill and eat any character who sets foot in the room.

S15E. The horde  
Text: 'This room is packed wall to wall with Pumpkin-Eaters wallowing in their own filth. The floor is strewn with bones and gory smears.'  
These 16 Pumpkin-Eaters are also Pumpkin-Eater-eaters. As such, Abby has ordered them all into the same room in the hopes that if they do eat a Pumpkin-Eater, it'll be another cannibal, thus reducing the number of cannibals on the Hill. The bones are all that remain of the cannibals who've been consumed. Those who remain try to grab the characters and drag them into the room to be consumed alive.

S15F. Singing and dancing onces  
Text: 'Eight Pumpkin-Eaters caper about the wreckage of this bedchamber while singing a rhyme. One holds up a glittering gold candelabra as it leads the conga line.'  
The conga line falls apart into weeping if the candelabra is taken from them.

S15G. Babies  
Text: 'Haggard Pumpkin-Eaters cradle screaming young in the debris-strewn corners of this room while several more hoot, holler, and roll on the floor, whacking each other with sticks.'  
This room contains 3 adult Pumpkin-Eaters tending to 7 noncombatant babies.

S15H. Pumpkin-Eater fort  
Text: 'This room contains a fort made out of piled bits of shattered furniture and torn draperies. From within the fort, you hear a mischievous cackle.'  
Two Pumpkin-Eaters live in the makeshift fort and refuse to come out unless baited with food. While hidden, they have 3/4 cover.

S16. Cellar  
Text: 'The stone steps descend 20 ft to a cellar that contains 10 damp barrels.'  
The barrels are rotted and fall apart when touched. Inside one is a musty, rolled-up spell scroll of heroes's feast.

S17. Loft and belfry  
Anyone on the curtain wall (area S18) who listens at this room's door hears the soft tones of a stringed instrument.  
Text: 'The wooden stairs climb 20 ft to a loft with a pitched roof and a door in the center of the south wall. Unlit lanterns hang from the rafters, and a rope dangles from a bronze bell lodged in the belfry 30 ft overhead. The room is filled with the sound of beautiful music-a melody so enchanting that it adds a bit of much-needed warmth to the otherwise chilly room.  
A cot heaped with furs rests in the northeast corner. An oil lamp burns atop a table nearby, silhouetting a creature with the body of a halfling but the head of a rabbit. It sits on the edge of a cot, playing a viol.'  
Needles, thread, wood working tools, and other masonry implements are stored inside a closet in the northwest corner.  
If anyone rings the bell, a cacophony erupts from the courtyard and east wing as the Pumpkin-Eaters howl, "Food!"  
Clover, Abby's dutiful servant, a N Pumpkin-Eater (see appendix D), resides here. She plays the viol beautifully, and the music is often enough to put rowdy Pumpkin-Eaters to sleep.  
Roleplaying Clover  
Clover wears an over-long robe that, despite several attempts to shorten it, drags on the ground. She is Abby's servile martinet but is despised by many other Pumpkin-Eaters, who accuse her of hoarding food and starving them all to death. She, in turn, is terrified of them, some to the point that she is unable to bring them their rations, unintentionally starving them.  
Clover wishes to escape the Hill but is too timid to do so sober or while Abby still lives. If Abby is killed, Clover flees at once as only Abby's command keeps the other Pumpkin-Eater from harming her.  
Teleport destination  
Characters who teleport to this location from area K78 in the Elder Edelwood arrive at the point marked T on the ORIGINAL CoS map.

S18. Curtain wall  
Text: 'Scarecrows line the abbey walls, looking outward. They wear tattered chain shirts and carry spears with rusted heads. The courtyard below is blanketed with fog.'  
The scarecrows are lashed to wooden stands. Though fearsome, they are inanimate.  
It's a 15-ft drop from the top of the wall to the courtyard. Any creature that falls over the southwest wall tumbles 400 ft down the cliffside.

S19. Barracks  
Text: 'Bunk beds that have disintegrated with age lie in heaps along the walls of this moldy, 30-ft-sq room.'  
Back when the Hill was a safehaven and rescue station for those who crossed the mountains, it employed a small contingent of hunters to ensure those who came seeking shelter would always have enough to eat. The hunters were quartered here.  
Beatrice  
If the characters haven't already encountered her elsewhere, Beatrice (see appendix D) the Beasthunter is here, plotting her next move.  
She crept into Pottsfield unseen under cover of darkness and made her way to the Hill in the hopes of gathering info about the Beast and his domain from the residents here.  
Having met Abby and the Pumpkin-Eaters, Beatrices realizes that nobody here could be of any help to anyone and that they know less about the Beast than even she. Abby told her that she expects the Beast to come the Hill, so Beatrice has been waiting.  
In fact, Abby only believes this because of the magic aura from the teleportation area, which doesn't know was used by Tasha the Farmer rather than the Beast. Beatrice has slowly come to the conclusion that Abby's worries are unfounded and is more than ready to leave with the characters with they seem committed to fighting the Beast. As Abby's guest, Beatrice is free to come and go as she pleases.

S20. Upstairs office  
Text: 'A wooden counter shaped like an L stands at the front of this spacious office. All the other furniture has rotted away, leaving heaps of moldy wood and faded cloth.'  
The wood of the counter is old, soft, and easily broken. Nothing of value remains here. If they haven't cleared out the living den (area S15), the whoops, howls, and laughter follow them as they explore S21-4 to the east.

S21. Hospital  
Text: 'This spacious chamber contains metal bed frames arranged in two neat rows. Cobwebs and bits of rotten mattress cling to each frame.  
Three doors are spaced along the south wall, each with a plaque mounted on it. From west to east, the plaques read Operating Room, Nursery, and Morgue.'  
Six black bears are hibernating in this room, piled on each other for warmth in the shadowy corners. They don't attack unless the characters fail a DC 10 Dex (Stealth) check.

S22. Operating room  
Text: 'A bloodstained table stands in the middle of this otherwise empty room.'  
The first time a character touches the table: 'A scream fills the room-a scream that echoes through time. It is followed by another and another. Each fainter and fading until they are nothing more than haunting memories.'  
There is nothing of value here.

S23. Nursery  
Text: 'This room contains the wreckage of old wooden cribs.'  
This room was used as a nursery for the Pumpkin-Eaters until they quickly discovered that their newborns had the strength to destroy their bedding.  
If your card reading reveals a treasure here, it is under the wreckage of a crib.

S24. Morgue  
Text: 'A bird perches on the windowsill of this otherwise empty room.'  
If the characters approach the Feathered Friend, it flies to the shoulder of the nearest garden scarecrow or the one in whom lies a card reading treasure (area S9).

Pottsfield, Special Events

The Birthing  
If the characters are in Pottsfield and are in good standing with Enoch, he will come to them, riding upon Vegetana's pumpkin head, and excitedly demand that they follow him. He takes them to a garden bed of pumpkins in the middle of a field where 5 other Pumpkinfolk have gathered. They kneel in the dirt, shovels over their shoulders, around an especially thick pair of pumpkin vines sprouting from the ground. After giving the vines a good shake, the leaves fall away, revealing the vines's feet-like shape. They begin to sing and dig deep around the feet, uncovering more and more vinelike body until they finally unearth the pumpkin head.  
The body falls over and pushes up onto its hands and knees. Still singing, the Pumpkinfolk drop their shovels and pull carving knives from their belts. They descend slowly upon the new Pumpkinfolk, carving eyes, a nose, and a mouth. Finished, they back away from the newborn. "Air," it gasps before joining the others in song.

The Tithe  
This event occurs before the characters clear out the Hill of Pumpkin-Eaters if they intend to do so at all.  
If they are in Pottsfield: 'A great hush falls over the village. From every home, Pumpkinfolk step out the door. They do not speak a word but gather in neat rows before the statue of Enoch, in front of which stands Enoch upon the head of Vegetana.'  
Enoch closes his eyes, spins round and round on Vegetana, then points his tail. Whoever it lands upon is chosen for the tithe. He repeats the process until four are chosen.  
Once the lottery is finished, the Pumpkinfolk sing their same dancing song but with great solemnity. The four march up the road to the Hill where they will be eaten. The characters cannot persuade them to any other course of action and can only stop them by fighting them until unconscious or killing them.  
If they are on the Hill: 'In the distance you see four, orange-headed figures climbing the mountain road to the Hill. As they draw near, you catch the strains of a somber song.'  
Otto and Iggy run excitedly to fetch Abby and Wanda who burst from the Hall of the Pumpkin-Eaters with a more stately haste. Abby and Wanda escort the four Pumpkinfolk into the kitchen where the Pumpkinfolk get down on their knees and bow their heads, still singing. The songs stop as Abby and Wanda hack the pumpkins away from the vines with cleavers.  
If the characters try to stop any of the Pumpkin-Eaters, all the Pumpkin-Eaters and their allies turn hostile and attack the characters. This action causes Wanda to refuse to help the characters in their fight against the Beast as does harm to Abby for any reason.  
Development  
If the characters refrain from stopping the slaughter, Abby will later invite them to sumptious meal of hearty pumpkin stew, after which she will be more inclined to release Wanda into their service if Wanda is the foretold ally.  
If they attempt to persuade Wanda to aid them before this event has passed, she simply refuses to leave Abby's side and Abby refuses to let her leave.


	10. Chapter 10

Chap 10: Winter Road

Winter Road is a gravel road that hugs Mount Gawking, climbing to great heights. The raod starts at the Raven River crossroads (Chap 2, area R) and travels seven miles to a gatehouse (areas T1-T3) and the winter watch (tower) (areas T4-T6), as well as a stone bridge (areas T7-T9) that spans the Loon River. Wind and snow make the journey treacherous. Without some way to keep warm, characters who aren't dressed for cold weather suffer the effects of extreme cold at night (see Chap 5 of the DM's Guide).

Areas of the Road  
The following correspond to labels on the ORIGINAL CoS map of the Tsolenka Pass on page 158. These structures are made of tightly fitted stone and can't be scaled without the aid of magic or a climber's kit.

T1. Gatehouse portcullis  
When the PCs approach from the west: 'The shelf of rock to which the mountain road clings grows narrow. To your left, icy cliffs rise to the gray skies above. To your right, the ground falls away into a sea of fog. Ahead, through wind and snow, you see a high wall of stone crusted with white frost and topped by statues of two-headed dogs at attention. Set in the center of the wall is a closed portcullis, behind which burns a curtain of sky-blue flame.  
On the other side of the wall, gripping the mountain's edge, is a frost-crusted stone watch tower topped by golden statues.'  
The gatehouse is 30 ft high. The walls are 20 ft high and watched over by 6 petrified death dogs. If PCs fly or climb over the gate, the death dogs (area T2) animate and attack.  
If the characters approach within 10 ft of the portcullis, it shrieks, metal upon metal, as it rises. It stays open for 1 min, then closes.

T2. Statues  
The six two-headed dogs are death dogs, petrified to stand watch for eternity. If they are attacked or if the PCs bypass the gatehouse, they revert to flesh and attack until the PCs flee or they are killed.

T3. Curtain of flame  
A curtain of sky-blue flame fills the eastern archway of the gatehouse. Any creature that enters or starts its turn in the curtain takes 33 (6d10) fire damage.  
A successful dispel magic or antimagic field (DC 16) suppresses the curtain for 1 min.

T4. Winter watch, ground floor  
The tower door is wooden and barred from within. It can be forced open with a DC 22 Str (Athletics) check.  
Text: 'A cold hearth stands across from the door, the wind howling down its chimney. A stone staircase is on the south wall. Three windows look out over a sea of fog.'  
The stairs climb 20 ft to area T5.  
Teleport destination  
PCs who teleport here from area K78 in the Elder Edelwood arrive at the point marked X on the map.

T5. Winter watch, upper floor  
Text: 'The upper level of the tower is an icebox with windows set in almost every wall. A rusted ladder bolted to the floor and ceiling leads up to a trapdoor. The wind howls through the chimney.'  
The trapdoor in the ceiling pushes open with a squeal, revealing the rooftop (area T6) and the stormy gray sky.  
The wind will blow out any non-magical fire lit in the hearth.

T6. Winter watch rooftop  
Text: '10-ft-tall, gold-plated statues stand atop the battlements, facing outward. Each one depicts a helmeted knight holding a lance. The cold wind stirs the snow, under which you see a tangle of skeletons.'  
The roof is 40 ft high and 540 ft above the misty valley below. A wooden trapdoor in the floor squeals as it is pulled open, revealing area T5 below.  
The skeletons are the remains of the last guards to hold this post agains the forces of winter. Their armor has been removed and placed on the statues.  
If your card reading reveals a treasure here, the statues animate. They are 6 animated armors and attack the PCs until they leave the rooftop or are defeated. Only after all six have been destroyed can the PCs find their treasure by searching in the snow.

T7. Western arch  
When the characters approach the bridge: 'The snowy pass comes to a gorge spanned by a stone bridge. At each end of the bridge is a 30-ft-tall, 30-ft-wide stone arch. Atop each one are two states of armored dogs on turkeyback with lances, charging one another. The wind bites and howls for them.'  
The western arch contains empty guard posts, one on each side of the bridge. The 10-ft-wide chambers provide protection from the wind but not the cold.

T8. Stone bridge  
Text: 'The low walls enclosing the frost-encrusted stone bridge have fallen away here and there, but the bridge itself is intact. A shadowy rider in a cloak and antlers stands guard in the middle of the bridge atop a giant turkey.'  
The rider is an illusion of the Beast to warn traverlers from proceding further. If the PCs interact with the rider in any way, it disperses as mist.  
500 ft below the bridge is the Loon River, barely visible through the fog. The 10-ft-wide, 90-ft-long bridge has iced over and is extremely slippery. PCs must make a DC 10 Dex (Acrobatics) or Str (Athletics) check to avoid falling prone or worse at the DM's discretion.

T9. Eastern arch  
Text: 'One statue atop the arch has crumbled, leaving only the hindquarters of the giant turkey intact. The mountain pass continues beyond.'  
This arch contains 10-ft-sq empty guard posts, one on each side of the bridge.  
Beyond this arch, Winter Road hugs the mountainside for 3 miles before branching north and south. The northern branch leads to Winter Place (Chap 13). The southern continues to wrap around Mount Gawking until it ends at the stone wall that surrounds the Unknown.

Special Events  
You can use one or both of the following events as the characters make their way along Winter Road.

Stone golems of the bridge  
As the characters cross the stone bridge (area T8), the three intact giant statues of the armored dogs on turkeyback animate and attack. The statues use  
stone golem stats, their lances attached to their bodies acting as natural weapons.  
They gang up to attack a random creature on the bridge but cannot leave the bridge without returning to inanimate stone.

Revenge of the scapegoat  
As the characters make their way along Winter Road, they encounter a giant goat once intended as a sacrifice by the Black Turtle cultists in Tavern Town. This goat escaped to the mountain pass and now attacks all humanoids in the memory of its near-death experience at their hands.  
Text: 'The road ahead is cut out of the mountainside, rising steeply to one side and falling away on the other. Mist and snow reduce visibilty, and the wind cuts through you like an icy knife.'  
If no character has a passive Wis (Perception) score of 16 or higher, the party is surprised. Otherwise: 'A 9-ft-tall goat stands atop a crab above you, its gray fur blending perfectly with the rock of the mountainside. It lowers its head, and malice glimmers in its eyes.'  
Modify its stats as follows:  
-Int 6  
-33 hit points  
-Resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks  
-Challenge rating 1 (200 XP)  
The giant goat charges down the mountainside (using its Charge feature) and rams a character. If the attack hits and the target fails its saving throw, it is sent tumbling down the mountainside, falling 100 ft onto a ledge.  
The goat flees if it takes 10 damage or more. The mist and snowfall preven seeing anything more than 60 ft away. Once the goat is out of sight, it disappears through a cleft.  
Development  
If the characters have lost favor with Lady Fiona of Tavern Town, they can offer the pelt of the giant goat to her as a gift and restore her favor.


	11. Chapter 11

Chap 11: The Overgrown Manor

While the Caretaker was in the process of becoming the Beast, a powerful fey named Margueritte Grey chased out all the other fey save her sister, Lee, from their homes in the marsh in order to construct a massive manor. But the outcast fey neither forgot nor forgave. When Margueritte completed the construction, the fey came in the night and set the new manor ablaze. Margueritte died in fire. Though her sister suffered horrific burns, Lee survived. She fled into the marsh and pledged herself to the pursuit of power and vengeance.  
Over the centuries, the swamp grew in and through the vast manor. Only Lee, now Granny Lee (see appendix D), and a few other idiosyncratic denizens of the Unknown make their home here now. Granny Lee, hermit and spinster, spends her days working magic on metal to perfect her clockwork golems. She travels the swamp in her mobile, metal hut, revealing the glory of her past vengeance to stave off the still-raw ache of losing her sister Margueritte. Despite her mythic strength of will, even she has succumbed to the twist of the fog. Granny Lee suffers from the same oppressive, irreparable loss of the loved one that has driven others in the Unknown to impossible lengths to restore their beloved.

Approaching the manor  
The following assumes that the characters approach from the north, along the trail from Worthwagon Road. If they approach from a different direction, ignore the first sentence: 'The trail hugs Loon River for several miles. The dirt and grass sink into marsh as the trail turns to a mush of spongy earth pockmarked with stands of tall reeds and pools of stagnant water. A low tide of fog shrouds all.  
Scattered throughout the marsh are crumbling walls covered with black mildew that hunker down in the mire. From every corner of the ruins, black clouds of flies set your teeth on edge with their incessant humming.  
The fog thins on the far side of the river, where a light flashes between stones standing in a ring.'  
The river ranges in depth but is never more than 10 ft deep. Murielle, a Feathered Friend in human form, lurks in the circle of stones (area U6) and uses a lantern to signal the characters. In the manor proper, fog prevents a creature from seeing any other creature or object more than 120 ft away.  
A few sections of dirt road have survived, and these places aren't difficult terrain. The marsh, however, is difficult terrain.  
Whenever the characters take a short or long rest in the marsh, even if barricaded in the ruins, they are accosted by 1d4 swarms of hungry flies (use the swarm of insects [wasps] stat block in the Monster Manual). The swarms don't accost PCs in areas U3 or U5.

Scarecrows  
Seven scarecrows under the command of Adelaide, the clone of the witch Tabitha (see Chap 3), have followed Murielle to the marsh. They appear to be ordinary scarecrows until characters approach within 10 ft. They follow the characters until noticed moving, then attack with the intent to kill.

Areas of the overgrown manor  
The following areas correspond to the labels on the ORIGINAL CoS map of Berez on pg 164.

U1. Servants quarters  
Text: 'As you approach this cluster of small, ruined rooms separated by the remnants of stone halls, you see a short stretch of dirt road. It is mercifully dry.'  
All furniture in the rooms has rotted away with only ruin and vegetation to occupy them. The walls range from 3 ft to 10 ft but are easily scaled with their many pockmarked sections.

U2. Mansion  
Text: 'Toward the south lie manor remains constructed on higher ground. They've been reduced to piles of stone. Empty, arched windows gape at you. Further south, an untamed garden now grows atop and entwined with the swamp's own vegetation. To the east stands a crude wooden fence, forming a circular yard in which several goats are penned. Humanoid skulls mount the fence posts.'

The high-ground ruins are littered with debris overgrown by grasses, fungi, and lichens. If the characters search the mansion, they come across a fly-bitten eccentric who now inhabits the ruins.  
'A giant man, his features mutilated by maggoty sores and fly bites turning to sores, rises to his full, towering height. But a cringe lights his eyes. "Please, get out of my house," he croaks in a voice unused to words.'  
The man's name is Quincy Endicott, an eccentric from Tavern Town who set out to find the object of his idiosyncratic desire, a marsh. Though frightening in appearcance, he is neutral good. He has recently fallen in love with a portrait of Margueritte that has remained magically intact thanks to Granny Lee.  
If your card reading reveals a treasure in the overgrown manor, Quincy has come across it and can direct the PCs to what he considers a useless trinket.  
Text: 'Travel west, 200 paces from here. My love will guide you from there.'  
Characters who follow the directions end up at area U5.

Cellar  
Buried under rubble inside the ruins is a stone staircase that leads down to a flooded cellar.

Garden  
The garden behind the manor has run wild. Hidden behind tall weeds and thorny vines are sculptures of some kind of fey with nubby antlers. Their features have been cracked and worn away by time.  
Four giant poisonous snakes attack PCs who venture 10 ft inside the garden.

Goat pen  
Granny Lee raises goats for meat, diary, and fiber. Nine goats dwell within the pen. Fifty fey skulls are mounted on the tops of the fence posts, spaced 10 feet apart. They are all that remain of the fey who set fire to Margueritte's manor. Granny Lee hunted every single one of them down and set fire to the camp they'd set up in the marsh after Margueritte drove them out.  
There is no gate in the fence, and Granny Lee uses her flying skull (see area U3) to enter and leave the pen. If the characters try to dismantle or damage part of the fence, the skulls atop the fence begin to shriek the final screams they made as Granny Lee tortured and killed them. She magically recorded the cacophony to use as an alarm.  
The racket attracts Granny Lee, who arrives in her flyin skull on an initiative count 20 in 2 rounds. The howling also draws the attention of Adelaide's scarecrows. Roll initiative once for all seven scarecrows.

U3. Hut  
Text: 'Someone has built a metal hut on the stump of what was once an enormous tree. The roots of the rotting stump thrust up from the mire like the legs of a gigantic spider.  
An open doorway is visible on one side of the hut, beneath wich floats the upside-down, hollowed out skull of a giant. Flanking the hut's doorway are two cages of bone that dangle like hideous ornaments form the eaves.'  
Granny Lee (see appendix D) is inside her hut unless she has been drawn out by activity elsewhere. Only the howling of skulls in area U2 or the sounds of nearby combat draw her out.  
The cages are made of the bones of the fey to whom the skeletons belonged. Once bloody from their use in torture, flies have long since sucked them dry.

Giant skull  
The upside-down skull that floats behind the skill like a maudlin sidecar is a hill giant's skull that Granny Lee has hollowed out and transformed into a vehile. It hovers until she commands it to fly, which she can do only from inside it. It has a fly speed of 40 ft. No one else can control it.  
A creature inside has 3/4 cover against attacks from outside. The skull is big enough to hold one Med creature. It has AC 15, 50 hit points, and immunity to poison and psychic damage.

Hut interior  
Text: 'The hut is 15 ft on a side and packed with ancient furniture, including a wooden cot, wicker cabinet, narrow wardrobe, a table and stool, and a chest. The walls are metal, dark and oily.  
In the middle of the room sits a woman with her back to you. Two nubby horns sprout from the crown of her head.'  
The woman is an illusion of Margueritte created by Granny Lee using a programmed illusion spell to keep her company. She talks to Margueritte every day as she tinkers with clockwork golems and parts at her work table.  
The wardrobe contains her work tools and spell components.  
If the PCs approach the hut at an appropriate time without being noticed, they can see Granny Lee speaking with the woman who sits on the floor.  
The wooden chest is protected by a glyph of warding that requires a DC 17 Int (Investigation) to find. The glyph deals 5d8 thunder damage when triggered. Opening the lid releases four clockwork crawling claws that fight until destroyed. The chest (and hut) contains items taken from the tortured and killed fey:  
-Gold bricks worth 1300 gp in any settlement's currency item  
-A vial containing oil of sharpness  
-Two spell scrolls containing mass cure wounds and revivify  
-A pouch containing 10 +1 sling bullets  
-A stone of good luck  
-If your card reading revealed a treasure here, it's also in the chest

Overgrown Manor, to the Standing Stones

U4. Sunken chimney  
Text: 'Through the fog you see the shell of a massive stone chamber. To the north, a metal fence has sunken tine by tine into the mire like the spine of a metal monstrosity.'  
PCs who explore the gutted chamber discover a fallen chimney, it's hearth now bubbling over with frothing, marshy muck.

U5. Margueritte's portrait  
The portrait is hidden in the marsh, and the characters are unlikely to find it on their own. Quincy Endicott (see area U2) can them here. Without the eccentric man's guidance, they must enter the square housing the portrait and search there. Searching for 10 min allows for a DC 15 Wis (Perception) check to find it. If failed, they get another check after another 10 min search.  
Text: 'Hidden by the fog, shambles of walls, and rampant grass is a raised, stone floor sunken in the marsh. Against one fallen wall leans a portrait of a betwitching fey, nubby horns sprouting from the crown of her head.'  
A plaque on the frame of the magically preserved portrait reads: Margueritte Gray. If the PCs have seen the portrait of the Beast, they may notice some general similarities in the fey features of the two. Although the Caretaker was the only one of their kind, they sprang from the same blood that gave rise to this species of fey in the Unknown.  
If your card reading reveals a treasure here, it is hidden in a cavity at the base of the wall across from the portrait.  
If the characters disturb the portrait: 'The croak of frogs and chirp of crickets fall silent, consumed by the tooth-rattling hum of millions of flies.'  
10 swarms of flies descend on the PCs, forming a black, biting wall between them and the portrait. As the characters flee the square, 7 swarms of poisonous snakes roil up from the ground to strike in passing, though neither threats follow fleeing players.

U6. Standing stones  
Text: 'A dozen moss-covered menhirs form a near-perfect circle in the spongy earth. The weathered stones range from 15 to 18 ft tall. Two lean inward as though sharing a secret. A frightened peasant woman lurks behind the tallest, clutching a rusty lantern in one gnarled hand.'  
The woman is Murielle, a Feathered Friend (see appendix D). She was separated from the group of Feathered Friends she'd been traveling with when they were attacked by scarecrows. The scarecrows have chased her into the marsh and she's afraid to venture out without an escort.  
If the PCs allow her to speak, she can tell them the following:  
-Legend has it that in ancient times, a great manor stood in the marsh, built over an entire town.  
-An ancient, powerful mage named Granny Lee lives in a metal hut in the middle of the marsh. Sometimes she flies around in a giant skull.  
-Granny Lee may very well be the oldest being in the Unknown next to the Elder Edelwood.  
-The scarecrows are murderous creatures controlled by the evil clone of long-dead witch.  
-The scarecrows hunt birds (Feathered Friends), but delight in killing and will attack anything.  
Murielle avoids combat and flees if attacked. She conceals her Feathered Friend nature for as long as she can. She can't be pursued to accompany the PCs if they decide to confront Granny Lee.  
She knows the Unknown well enough to give directions to other locations that might interest the players if they ask her specifically.  
If they get her out of the swamp safely, she flees to Tavern Town and puts in a good word for them with the Mulchmans.

Circle of standing stones  
This ring of menhirs is one of the oldest structures in the Barking Mountains. They were raised by the same race of fey who raised the stones by the Old Grist Mill and once lived in the marsh. Granny Lee is the last of these fey.  
The circle is 100 feet across, and the menhirs are spaced apart at regular intervals. The stones located to the north, west, south, and east are taller than the other eight stones. They once bore carvings, but the wet, rotting conditions of the marsh have leeched them away.  
The standing stones are nonmagical. However, druid characters who enter the circle can sense the blessing of a powerful nature god (the Caretaker), and that it stills holds some measure of power. They can also sense that creatures in the circle can't be targeted by divination magic or perceived through magical scrying sensors.  
Though druid characters can't sense it, if they use Wild Shape inside the circle, they gain the max hp available to the new form. At the DM's discretion, the circle may have other strange properties.  
Murielle is unaware of the stones's properties, only that in bird, she knew she felt safe here.

Special Events

Creeping hut  
Granny Lee has given a semblance of life to her hut through its clockwork machinations. If the PCs overstay their welcome, she commands the hut to animate and attack.  
Text: 'The hut shudders and shrieks, metal on metal, as it rise from the marsh. Metal legs winch out in screeches from under the hut, unfolding down into the mire. The hut lurches and groans, becoming a lumbering mass on wildly wheeling legs crushing all in its path.'

The creeping hut (see appendix D) is a clockwork construct that heeds Granny Lee's instructions and no one else's. It fights until destroyed or Granny Lee is killed.


	12. Chapter 12

Chap 12: The Schoolhouse

In the time before the Beast, those servants of the Beast titled Tasha the Pumpkin Farmer, Khazam the Magicman, Duff the Diabolist, and Taz the Transporter were all student mages known simply as Tasha, Khazam, Duff, and Taz. They studied together at the Schoolhouse, a magic academy rising as a tower on a small island on Lake Barking. As the Beast came to power, the four friends on the verge of academy graduation noted that any fellow student of theirs who turned their magic against the Beast met an untimely end. As the four were both highly skilled and highly pragmatic, they offered their services to the Beast at once. They lived and flourished in pursuit of their powers and hobbies under the Beast. Their schoolfellows and teachers perished.  
Theirs was the last class to graduate intact. After they left their magical home of childhood, the Schoolhouse soon closed and fell into disrepair. They standing empty for ages, it was recently taken into new management, semi-restored, and opened once more as the Schoolhouse. Save that no child nor adult student has ever been known to study therein.  
The Schoolhouse has been taken over by a wealthy eccentric by the name of Langley. His idiosyncratic dream is to reeducated all the animals of the wild so that they can better integrate into the civilized world. To this end, he has gathered his students and even found them a teacher, Miss Langtree, who left Tavern Town and her beloved Jimmy Brown for answers to the problem of the Beast. She hasn't found them. She is now trapped in within the tower along with her 'students.'

Approaching the tower  
The Edelwood forest has swallowed up the road that once led to the Schoolhouse. Now only a wide dirt trail remains.  
Text: 'You come to a cold mountain lake enclosed by rocky bluffs and Edelwood trees exhaling thick fog that creeps across the dark, still waters. The trail ends at a grass-covered causeway that stretches a 100 yds across the lake to a flat, marshy island with a stone tower on it. The tower is old, decrepit, with rickety scaffolding clinging along one side.  
Near the base of the tower, within sight of the entrance, is a giant turkey wagon led by a Fungai.'  
The Fungai has just dropped off a shipment of food for the people and animals as arranged by Langley. They leave as the PCs approach.  
THe tower stands 80 ft tall. It has four levels (each 20 ft high). The uppermost level overhands the levels below and has window boxes.

Spell drain  
To protect the students of the magic academy, the mage professors warded the tower so that only students and teachers could cast spells near and within the tower. The effect is identical to an antimagic field centered on the tower and extending 5 ft from it in all directions. The effect doesn't apply to the magicks within the tower created by the professors and even students.

Areas of the Schoolhouse  
The following correspond to labels on the ORIGINAL CoS map of Van Richten's Tower on pg 170.

V1. Turkey wagon  
The Fungai has parked their wagon in front of the tower while they unload Langley's shipment of provisions. If the PCs investigate the wagon:  
'Mud and mulch coat the wagon frame like layers of thick, clumpy paint. The two giant turkeys hitched at the front gobble at your approach.'  
The wagon contains nothing of value, but the food and provisions left in crates by the door are edible.  
These can be used as bargaining chips against Langley if the PCs hide them before the clay golems come to collect the shipment and/or wrest them away from the clay golems. The Fungais only bring the shipments once a month. Langley will do anything to retrieve the supplies as everyone he's trapped within the Schoolhouse in the name of education will starve without them.

V2. Tower door  
Text: 'The tower door is made of solid metal with no visible handles or hinges. In the middle of the door is a large, embossed symbol-a connected series of lines with eight stick figures set around it. Carved into the lintel above the door is a name that has been scratched out.'  
The door is magically locked and trapped, however, four clay golems are coming down the stairs to pick up the shipment and will open the door from the inside if the PCs wait five minutes after the Fungai has departed.  
A creature that touches the trapped door causes lighting to envelop the tower. Any creature outside the Schoolhouse and within 10 ft of it must succeed on a DC 15 Dex save, with disadvantage if wearing metal armor, taking 22 (4d10) lightning damage on a failed save, or half on a successful one. As long as the effect persists, any creature that enters the lightning's range for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there takes 22 (4d10) lightning damage. The lightning lasts for 10 minutes or until the door is opened from the inside.  
The clay golems do not attack the PCs unless the PCs disturb the food in their presence or attack them. If the PCs attempt to enter through the door while the clay golems are picking up the shipment, they clay golems don't notice their entrance unless they fail a DC 10 Stealth (Dex) check. If any of the characters fail, Langley is alerted to their presence at once.

V3. Rickety scaffolding  
Text: 'Rotting wooden beams support the scaffolding, which groans and creaks with the slightest breeze. A series of ladders and platforms lead to a hole in the northwest wall on the 3rd floor.'  
Langley has been attempting renovations to make the Schoolhouse more animal-friendly but used wood for scaffolding and left it out over months of rain. It's now no longer safe for his clay golems to use, so renovations are currently suspended until the golems finish the new scaffolding Langley has them making. They are taking the wood for the new scaffolding from the floorboards of the tower itself.  
This old scaffolding can't support more than 200 lbs. If it collapses, anyone standing on it falls 20 ft to the ground, taking 1d6 bludgeoning damage per 10 ft fallen pluse 2d6 piercing damage from debris. A creature under the scaffolding must make a DC 13 Dex save or take 14 (4d6) bludgeoning damage from falling debris.

V4. First floor  
Text: 'The flagstone floor is cluttered with stacks of books and piles of parchment. Several desks stand near the east wall as well as makeshift scaffolding.  
A 5-ft-sq indentation in the center of the floor contains 4 pulleys attached to taut iron chains that stretch up through a similarly sized hole in the wooden ceiling.'  
Langley is here, hidden by the desks as he is crouched to inspect the scaffolding. If not alerted by the clay golems, he pops up at the first noise, banging his head against the underside of the desk.  
While Langley is friendly and welcoming of the players, offering them a tour, he means to trap them here with the help of his clay golems and force them to teach his animal pupils along with Miss Langtree.  
The characters cannot use the elevator without the help of at least one clay golem. Pulling on the chain, a clay golem can lower the platform then raise to whichever one is specified.  
The elevator ride isn't smooth. The platform jerks up or down 5 ft per round.  
If all golems are destroyed, the elevator is no longer operational, but the chains can be scaled with a DC 15 Str (Athletics) or Dex (Acrobatics) check.  
Langley (CN mage, any race) attacks the PCs if they attempt to leave in his presence or if they are hostile to anyone in the tower.

V5. Second floor  
Text: 'Dust and cobwebs fill this otherwise empty room, the wooden floor missing almost all of its planks.'  
In the middle of the room is a large opening in the floor and ceiling. Chains extend all the way from the bottom floor to the top through the hole. The 5-ft-sq sections of floor around the hole are weak. They can support 150 lbs each, but any more weight causes the section to collapse, and any creatures standing on it to fall 20 ft to the ground floor.

V6. Third floor  
Text: 'Every square inch of this chamber has been subjected to carvings-names, pictures, and messages. The wooden floor has been almost entirely dismantled.'  
This room once served as the dorm for student mages. Tasha, Khazam, Duff, and Taz have all carved their names here as well as written messages to or about each other. Such graffiti is left to the DM's discretion, but it may be used to reveal information about them:  
-Duff and Taz were best friends.  
-Khazam had a crush on Tasha (which developed into unrequited love while they worked in the Elder Edelwood).  
-Tasha had a love for all things botanical, especially pumpkins, and essentially turned the dorm into an indoor garden.  
-Duff had a love for demons and practiced minor illegal demonic conjurations in his spare time.  
-Taz had a love for teleportation matched only by his love for sleeping in and having to teleport to class in his pajamas to avoid tardies.  
-Khazam had a love for evocation and the elements and was somewhat pretentious about it, holding evocation AoEs as the highest standard of destructive magic.  
The graffiti can also function as glyphs for programmed illusions of the four students presenting such information themselves.  
The 5-ft-sections of the floor are extremely unstable. Any weight over 50 lbs causes the section to collapse, and any creatures standing on it fall 40 ft to the ground, smashing through the second floor on the way down.

V7. Fourth floor  
Text: 'The gamey stench of animal stings your nose at the first whiff. A woman stands at a desk and blackboard, drawing a diagram and formulas for a triangle in chalk. Across from her, beasts and fowl, in clothing, sit quietly in two rows along the wall.  
A bed occupies one corner while a foldout table and wooden chest occupy the one opposite. Mounted to the rafters are pulleys around which hange iron chains that support the tower's elevator platform.'  
The woman is Miss Langtree (NG commoner, any race) who mouths "help me" at the PCs if accompanied by Langley and while Langley has his back to her. She hails from Tavern Town and was trapped here by Langley when she came across it in her travels and entered, believing it to be a tavern of some sort. She reveals her circumstances to them if they can convince Langley to have a word with her in private. She will gladly help the PCs as she can if they promise to help her escape.  
The wooden chest contains spare clothes, metal bowls and utensils, and the teacher's chalk. None of it is valuable.  
If your card reading reveals a treasure here, its hidden in the rafters, which must first be scaled before they can be searched.

The Schoolhouse, Special Events

Pack Attack  
If the characters activated the lightning sheath around the tower or caused any part of the tower to collapse, the sound echoes through the valley as far west as Pottsfield and as far east as Tavern Town. The disturbance attracts the attention of a group of 2d4 fog-touched fey and 2d4 dire dogs which arrives after 1 hour.  
They attack any characters outside and attempt to enter the tower itself. They don't know about the lightning, but after it they will attempt the scaffold if it hasn't been destroyed. They can smell the animals within the tower and will stay outside until they are killed or at least three 'students' are delivered up to them.  
Development  
Any harm or suggested harm to the student will cause Langley to attack the PCs and set the clay golems on them. If Langley is killed the clay golems go berserk on every living creature in the Schoolhouse.

Beatrice's Retreat  
Beatrice rides in on the back of a stolen giant turkey from the Fungai camp outside Tavern Town. She's come from the Elder Edelwood and an encounter with the Beast from which she barely escaped with her life.  
She's being pursued by 3d4 swarms of Business Bats and seeks refuge within the Schoolhouse. She can't make it to the door and instead leaps off the giant turkey onto the scaffolding. She hides and waits there until the Business Bats fly off after five minutes.  
Her altercation with the Beast has left her with only 30 hp and she graciously accepts any healing.  
Development  
If alive, Langley will take her into the tower and try to trap her here with the PCs.  
From this moment, the Beast gains a new goal: kill the meddling Beatrice. He relies on druids and the Beast's fog-touched fey in the Edelwood forest as well as his spies and other servants to help him find and kill her at any of the settlements in the Unknown.  
If the Beast learns that she and the PCs are working together, he invites the characters to the Elder Edelwood, expecting Beatrice to accompany them. They receive the invitation in a letter from a spy (see appendix F).  
PCs who afterward head toward the castle encounter no threatening random encounters along the way.  
Bloody Reunion  
This event only occurs if the PCs have Jimmy Brown with them.  
Jimmy Brown and Miss Langtree will recognize one another instantly and rekindle the great love they once held for each other. Jimmy Brown, determined to aid his beloved, will ask Langley for a wizard's duel. Langley will accept and the PCs may spectate or use the distraction for what it is. The outcome of the duel is left to the DM.  
If Jimmy Brown dies, Miss Langtree will teach the animals through a lament for him. If the characters ask Miss Langtree to accompany them after her rescue, she will if they mention their intentions against the Beast and may be frequently heard humming or singing this same lament.  
Song reference on YouTube.


	13. Chapter 13

Chap 13: The Mulch Fields

The Mulch Fields are the bed of life for the Fungais, who are grown deep in its mulch. The family currently in charge of the Mulch Fields, the Mulchmans, also ferments the best alcohols in the Unknown in the same mulch that gives life to the Fungais.  
The Mulchmans descend from allies of the first Feathered Friends and everyone of their number have become shifting Feathered Friends to this day.  
Though it is common for denizens of the Unknown to brew their own alcohol, it is also common knowledge that the best spirits come from the Mulch Fields. Anyone may obtain such alcohol if they are willing to barter for it with organic material that the Mulchmans may add to the Fields.  
This organic barter has recently led to tensions with the druids who live within and guard the Seed Garden (Chap 14). Five days ago, one of the less intelligent druids bartered away a most precious crop of seeds in exchange for alcohol. When he returned, the other druids, enraged at the loss, ritualisticall tortured and killed him. Their twig blights dragged his body all the way back to the Mulch Fields to barter the decomposing corpse for the seeds. The Mulchmans refused. The twig blights departed but left the body.  
Two days ago, the druids returned en masse to tear apart the Mulch Fields in search of the seeds to take them by force. The Mulchmans fled into hiding, but without them, the druids could not find the seeds. In vengence, they desecrated the Fields and poisoned the fermentation vats, leaving the Fungais without any usable mulch.  
Even if the PCs help the Mulchmans reclaim the Mulch Fields, the land will remain blighted and unusable unless they can get some druid to undo the desecration ritual. Without a druid of the Seed Garden turned to this path, the Fungais themselves, unable to grow new young, will die out.

Approaching the Mulch Fields  
A branch of Worthwagon Road leads to the Fields. If the PCs approach along this path: 'After half a mile, the road becomes a muddy trail that meanders through the woods, descending gradually until the Edelwood trees part, revealing a mist-shrouded meadow. The trail splits. One branch heads west into the valley, and the other leads south into dark woods. A wooden signpost at the intersection points west and reads, "Mulch Fields".'  
If the PCs head west: 'A light drizzle begins to fall. Unpainted fence planks lean hapzardly as they follow the trail, which skirts north of a sprawling, stinking field piled high with scattered mounds of pungent earth and detritus. Here and there, you see abandoned turkey wagons above a tide of low fog.  
North of the trail is a large grove of Edelwood trees. A Fungai in a dark cloak and cowl stands at their edge, beckoning you.'  
This Fungai is one of nine Feathered Friends (LG male and female Fungais) hiding in the grove north of the field. If the PCs ignore him and continue on their way, the Feathered Friends keep their distance and wait to see what happens.

The Mulchman Family  
If the PCs head toward the cloaked figure, the other Feathered Friends emerge from the trees and greet them in person form. They wear dark leather rain cloaks and cowls.  
One is the current head of the Mulch Fields, Dave Mulchman, who is an old and suspicious Fungai. Until he trusts the PCs, he says nothing about the druids's seeds but tell them that evil druids of the Beast and their twig blights have attacked the Fields and forced his family to take refuge in the Edelwood forest.  
If the PCs rid the Fields of the invaders, Dave is grateful. Only then does he tell them that the druids have desecrated the land in search of their seeds, which are of similar size and shape as pinecones. But the Mulchmans need at least one druid to undo the desecration ritual, for which they are willing to trade one seed. Dave urges the PCs to travel to the Seed Garden and acquire one druid alive and bring them back for bartering.  
Dave does not tell the PCs to leave any of the druids currently present within the Mulch Fields alive as a test. Much like his daughter Winnie, he has an idiosyncracy for testing others.  
Dave's group of Feathered Friends includes:  
Dave Mulchman  
Ryan, his eldest son  
Elmo, his youngest son  
Steffie, his adult daughter  
Dagbert, Steffie's husband  
Clark, Steffie's teenage son  
Noncombatants:  
-Marty and Vic, Steffie's young boys  
-Yolanda, Steffie's baby girl  
If the PCs come looking for alcohol, Ryan tells them there are three barrels in the loading dock (area W2), three and several bottles in the cellar (area W14), and more fermenting in mulch (area W9).

Approaching the Mulch House  
If the PCs continue toward the Mulch House: 'Situated in the midst of the pungent field, stands an old, two-story stone building with many doors and thick ivy covering every wall. The trail ends at an open loading dock on the ground floor.  
A wooden stable, recently refurbished, is attached to the eastside of the building, next to the loading dock. To the west is a crumbling well and wooden outhouse.'  
Upon reaching the Mulch House: 'You hear the rustle of dead vines from all around you. Inhuman shapes emerge from behind piles and within ditches in the field. Their limbs crack as they trudge forth through the mist and rain.'  
30 needle blights (in six groups of five) emerge from the surrounding field and march on the PCs and Mulch House. They are 120 ft away when first visible and have a walking speed of 30 ft. PCs can barricade themselves inside or fight. If they stay outside, druids and blights from inside can join the battle.  
Round Creatures  
3 1 druid and 24 twig blights (from area W9)  
4 1 druid and 5 needle blights (from area W14)  
5 1 druid and 2 vine blights (from area W20)  
The druid in area W16 carries a blight staff (see appendix C). If the staff is destroyed all blights within 300 feet of it instantly wither and die.

The Mulch Fields, Mulch House

Areas of the Mulch House  
The following correspond to labels on the ORIGINAL CoS map of the winery on pg 175.

W1. Stables  
The Mulchmans kept their giant turkeys here, but the turkeys are currently in hiding from the evil druids and blights.

W2. Loading dock  
Text: 'Parked in the loading dock is a turkey wagon with 3 barrels set in braces on the mulch-free bed. A raised wooden walkway runs along the west, south, and east walls. Through a hole in the ceiling, you see the wooden arm of a loading crane with ropes and hooks dangling from it.'  
Barrels of alcohol in the cellar (area W14) are rolled up a ramp (area W12) to the crane on the upper floor (area W16), then lowered into the wagon. Empty barrels are rolled off the back of the wagon from above. Empty barrels are rolled off the back of the wagon and stored in area W9. The 3 barrels on the wagon hold poison as the druids got to them.  
The south door has been forced open and hangs ajar. It can't be closed until repaired, though it can be barricaded.  
Anyone who drinks the fouled alcohol is the same as drinking a potion of poison.

W3. Barrel maker's workshop  
Text: 'Strips of metal and wood lie in neat piles on the floor of this workshop, the walls of which are lined with tools. 2 worktables stand against the east wall.'  
Barrels are made here. The north door is barred from the inside.

W4. Barrel storage  
Text: 'Rows of new barrels fill this room. A narrow stone staircase spirals upward in the southwest corner.'  
The room contains 13 empty barrels.

W5. Veranda  
Text: 'Resting on a flagstone veranda are 3 5-ft-diameter wooden tubs, their insides stained with mulch and reeking of it.  
At the back of the veranda is a large set of sliding wooden doors as well as a normal-sized wooden door.  
Stone pillars and arches support the floor above.'  
Mulch is carried in through the veranda to the mulch lab for experimentation. The sliding doors are chained shut from the inside, and the smaller door can be barred shut from inside. Breaking through either requires a successful DC 20 Str check.

W6. Well  
A ring of tight-fitting, moss-covered stones encloses this 40-ft-deep well. The druids have poisoned the water so that drinking it is the same as drinking from a potion of poison.

W7. Outhouse  
Text: 'Sweet-smelling herbs hang from the eaves of this ramshackle wooden outhouse, which has a small WC carved into its door.'  
The outhouse contains no surprises and has been left untouched by both druids and their blights.

W8. Storage  
Text: 'Bare hooks line the walls of this storage room. Shelves to the south hold several pairs of mulch-stained boots. Both doors to this room hang open. This one to the west is fitted with metal brackets and leads outside into the rain. Lying on the floor next to it is a 5-ft-long wooden beam.'  
Before fleeing, the Mulchmans took the leather rain cloaks stored here but left their field boots here.  
The wooden beam can be used to bar the outer door.

W9. Fermentation vats  
Text: 'The pungent smell of fermenting alcohol and mulch mingle in this large, two-story chamber, which is dominated by four enormous, mulch-stained wooden casks, each one 8-ft-wide and 12-ft-tall. A wooden staircase in the center of the room climbs to a 10-ft-high wooden balcony that clings to the south wall, which has four windows set into it at balcony level. Stacked against the wall underneath the balcony are old, empty barrels. The balcony climbs another 5 ft as it continues along the west and east walls, ending at doors to the Mulch House's upper level.  
Underneath these side balconies are several doors, some of which hang open. Beneath the sloping roof stretch thick rafters, upon which scores of birds have quietly gathered. They watch you with great interest.'  
Four swarms of birds perch on the rafters but don't attack the PCs. They are Feathered Friends who've been permanently been made birds by Adelaide (see Chap 3).  
Unless they've been drawn outside, 24 twig blights and one druid (NE female, any race) are also present. If here: 'The balcony creaks. A wild-looking figure hunched over the westernmost cask, pouring a flash of thick syrup into it. She wears a cloth of animal skins and a helm of goat horns, her hair long and matted.  
Something skitters across the floor, a tiny creature made of twigs. It moves from its hiding place under the stairs and disappears behind the easternmost cask.'  
The four containers are fermentation vats, one each for beer, wine, whiskey, and vodka. The easternmost cask has split in the back, creating a 6-in-wide, 6-ft-high opening through which twig blights can pass. All 24 are hidden in the cask, past the layer of mulch between the inner and outer barrels. While inside, they have total cover against attacks from the outside.  
The druid is poisoning the last of the vats. The 3 westernmost vats contain enough poisoned alcohol to fill 20 barrels. Drinking it has the same effect as drinking a potion of poison. Only a purify food and drink spell can neutralize the poison without changing the taste of the alcohol like an antitoxin will.  
If the PCs attack the druid, she calls her twig blights. The swarms of birds descend to attack the blights.  
The sliding wooden doors along the north wall (leading to area W5) are chained shut from the inside. The key to the padlock can be found in the office (area W20). The single door leading to area W5 is barred shut from the inside, as is the single door leading to area W2.

W10. Mulch lab  
Text: 'As soon as you enter, you're hit with a wall of mulch pungence that draws stinging tears from your eyes. A dirty window in the south wall allows dim light to enter this room. Tools have been scattered amidst the mulch and broken glass tubes, jars, and implements of uncertain purpose littering the floor.  
A hearth built into the southwest corner is flanked by a broken barrel of sand, the millions of grains joining the debris on the floor. A staircase descends underground beside a barred door.'  
This room is where the Mulchmans experiment upon the Mulch to find the ideal conditions for producing new Fungais.  
The stairs lead down to area W13. The east door is barred from the inside.  
If your card reading reveals a treasure, it's in the barrel of sand. Digging through the sand is needed for the check to find it.

W11. Spiral staircase  
Text: 'This turret contains a stone spiral staircase. Windows in the outer wall allow light to enter.'  
The stairs connect all three levels of the Mulch House.

W12. Ramp  
Text: 'This turret has a sloping, wooden floor that spirals from the cellar to the upper levels. Scratch marks suggest that barrels are rolled up and down the ramp on a routine basis.'  
The spiraling ramp connects all three levels of the Mulch House. The evil druids use the ramps t move between levels.

W13. Back staircase  
Text: 'Thick moss covers the walls of this underground staircase. At the foot of the steps is a landing with an arched wooden door set into the north wall.'  
The staircase connects areas W10 and W14.

The Mulch Fields, Mulch House Other Levels

W14. Cellar  
Text: 'Wooden pillars and beams support the 10-ft-high ceiling of this ice-cold cellar, which is split in 2 by a 5-ft-thick brick wall. A thin mists rolls out over the floor. Each half of the cellar features an 8-ft-tall wooden paritition that doubles as a rack for glass bottles. The western rack stands empty, but the eastern one is half-filled with various bottles.'  
Unless drawn outside, 5 needle blights and one druid (NE male, any race) lurk in the eastern portion of the cellar. If they are here: 'Something moves behind the eastern rack. Through the holes, you glimpse a half dozen humanoid figures, one with his own full rack of antlers.'  
One his first turn, from behind the rack, the druid casts a thunderwave spell, which shatters 1d20+10 bottles. Then the needle blights attack.  
The cellar grows colder closer to the north wall. Against it are 3 frosty barrels of poisoned alcohol.  
The rack in the eastern half holds 40 bottles. No alcohol in the bottles has been poisoned.  
A secret door between the 2 halves of the cellar can be pushed open to reveal a freezing cold passageway (area W15).

W15. Brown mold  
If the PCs open the secret door: 'It takes some effort to push open the secret door and you are blasted by cold air. A dark tunnel stretches 15 ft, ending at an archway beyond which lies a shallow cave.'  
PCs with a light source can see brown mold covering the walls, floor, ceiling, and cave (see Chap 5, DM's Guide).

W16. Loading winch  
Text: 'This room has a wooden floor with a 10-ft-sq hole cut into the middle of it. Looming over the hole is a wooden winch. Perched atop it is a man with matted hair, rotted teeth, and naked save for the patches of skin smeared with black tree sap. He wields a gnarled staff made from a black branch.'  
The man is a druid (NE male, any race) who fights only if cornered. Otherwise, he tries to flee by dropping onto the wagon in the loading dock (area W2). He tries to hide.  
A secret door in the north corner of the west wall can be pulled open to reveal a bedroom (area W17).  
The druid wields a blight staff (see appendix C), which can be used to destroy the blights.

W17. Master bedroom  
This bedroom normally belongs to Dave nut is currently being used by Steffie to raise her baby in its larger and private space.  
Text:'This room contains a 4-poster bed, its headboard carved in the likeness of a giant turkey. A soft pelt rug covers the floor between the bed and the door. In the corner of the south wall stand two narrow wardrobes with a tapestry of a massive rootbed spreading out from a baby Fungai hanging on the wall between them.  
Beneath the tapestry sits a varnished rocking cradle. To the north, under a window, is a plain desk and chair. Other furnishings include a wooden chest and a freestanding mirror in a wooden frame.'  
One wardrobes contains Steffie's clothes and the other contains Dagbert's. The desk holds receipts recording alcohol shipments for the past century. An examination reveals the Mulchmans ship to Adelaide, Tavern Town, Pottsfield, and the Fungai camps.  
Characters who check the oldest records also find entries for the Beast.  
The wooden chest is locked with the key hidden in a compartment in a bedpost. A PC who searches the bed notices one knob is loose and can be removed.  
A secret door in the north corner of the east wall can be pushed open to gain access to the loading winch (area W16).  
Inside the chest are gold bars worth 50 gp, 270 ep, and 350 sp in any settlement's currency item. A secret compartment in the lid can be found with a successful DC 15 Wis (Perception) check. It holds a locket containing a painted portrait of a beautiful Fungai (Dave's deceased wife Angie, her remains returned to the Mulch Fields from which she was born).

W18. Kitchen and dining room  
Text: 'This room contains a rectangular table surrounded by 8 chairs, a cupboard, and a floor-to-ceiling closet pantry. Next to the pantry is a small stove.'  
The cupboard holds dishware and eating utensils. The pantry holds cooking ingredients and stores.

W19. Sleeping quarters  
Text: 'Two pairs of bunk beds occupy this room. Against the west wall rest four identical footlockers.'  
Dave, Ryan, and Elmo sleep in the westernmost room. Clark and his brothers sleep in the easternmost room, where a few toys are scattered.  
One toy resembles a child's wooden rocking horse, except the horse is black with wild eyes and has painted orange flames for a mane, tail, and hooves. Carved into the wooden nightmare is the name "Wonderhorse" and, in smaller print, "No Fun for You!"  
The footlockers contain clothes but nothing of value.

W20. Bathing room  
The door hangs open.  
Text: 'In this chamber are a bathing tub, a wooden toilet, a changing table, and a tall towel closet.'  
Two vine blights and one druid (NE female, any race) are here unless drawn elsewhere. If here: 'Three creatures are here, lounging in the bathing tub in the northern end of the room. The water is filthy and seems more to spread the dirt than clean any of the occupants.'  
The druid and vine blights fight to the death.  
Inside the cabinet is a key hanging on a loop of twine. The key unlocks the padlock on the sliding doors between the veranda (area W5) and the fermentation vats (area W9).

The Mulch Fields, Special Events

Alcohol delivery  
After restoring the Mulch Fields to the Mulchmans, the PCs can ask them to deliver the mulch-fermented alcohol again. A grateful Dave sets his kids to the task at once.  
Ryan brings the untouched spirits and sets them on the wagon. Elmo secures the giant turkeys. Ryan and Elmo make the delivery themselves but welcome the party's escort. If the PCs don't volunteer to guard them, Dave suggests/heavily implies that they should.  
Check for a random encounter once for each mile traveled. The wagon is also watched by 2 swarms of birds that swoop down to attack any threats.  
Development  
The PCs can trade the alcohol for a much-needed treasure or use it to buy their way into a settlement with which they've lost favor.

Treebert attacks  
If the PCs leave the Mulch Fields and return before dealing with Treebert (see Chap 14), the enormous tree blight (see appendix D) is sent from the Seed Garden to ravage the Mulch Fields and destory the Mulch House.  
The characters arrive to find the house and fields in ruins. Treebert's tracks are clearly visible on the trail to the south. PCs who follow the tracks catch up with Treebert on its way back to the Seed Garden.  
The Mulchmans narrowly escape and flee to the Blue Tavern in Tavern Town (Chap 5, area N2). Dave is devastated by the loss of the Mulch Fields and will fall into Edelwood Slumber in 24 hours.  
Development  
Three days after the attack, Adelaide (see Chap 3) sends seven scarecrows from the village of Adelaide to take up positions in the ruined fields and watch for returning Feathered Friends. They attack any who crosses the fields or approaches the ruins of the house.


	14. Chapter 14

Chap 14: Winter Place

Part 1

The Unknown once had four seasons-spring, summer, fall, and winter. But in the first year of the Beast, winter proved too much for those Edelwood trees who grew from the bodies of the despairing. The leaves fell away and the bitter cold embrittled the trees from branches to roots. When the North Wind blew, the Edelwood trees fell and shattered as oily black shards.  
The Beast could not keep his soul burning without the tinder and oil of the trees. So his path was clear. He had to prevent winter from coming to the Unknown. With the help of his servants, he discovered that it was the North Wind who brought the cold down from the sky and mountains to cause the season.  
The servants of the Beast spent spring, summer, and fall constructing a prison to hold the North Wind and all the Wind's frigid servants. They called Winter Palace in jest. At the height of his power, the Beast trapped the North Wind here, and with the wind, all of winter, spring, and summer as well. The Unknown froze in time, an eternal fall.  
The North Wind has weakened in power over the years, for the Wind (LN, sexless) sustains the lives of their servants through their own. Should the PCs release the North Wind, the Wind will gradually return to its old power and bring the seasons back to the Unknown in time.  
Only servants of the Beast have ever entered Winter Place, however, so the creatures within, even the North Wind themself, will assume that the PCs are the Beast's servants and attack.  
Extreme cold  
Winter Place has a temperature of -10 degrees Fahrenheit or -23 degrees Celsius. PCs without heat sources, cold weather gear, or magic to protect them are subject to the effects of extreme cold (see Chap 5, DM's Guide). If the Highwayman (Chap 5, area N9a) is with them, he protects himself with a ring of warmth.

Areas of Winter Place  
The following areas correspond to the labels on the ORIGINAL CoS maps of the Amber Temple on pages 182 and 190.  
All doors are fashioned from translucent slabs of ice with metal hinges and fittings magicked to withstand the cold.

X1. Facade of the Winter 'Palace'  
A snow-swept gravel road climbs the mountainside as it travels north from Winter Road toward Winter Place.  
When the PCs reach the end of the road: 'The road fades away under cover of snow. Ahead, you see a facade carved into the sheer mountainside. The carvings reach a height of 50 ft. Six alcoves contain 20-ft-tall statues relieved from the stone of the mountain. Each depicts head-bowing yetis in chains.  
Between the two innermost statues is a 20-ft-tall archway with a staircase leading down.'  
Looking at a statue for long fills the viewer with unease.

X1A. Narrow fissure  
Text: 'A natural fissure has opened in the mountainside west of the facade, creating a gap 2 ft wide, 10 ft tall, and 15 ft deep. You see light from a room beyond and hear voices.'  
The fissure leads to area X15. If the PCs make a lot of noise, one creature from the area investigates.

X2. Entrance  
Text: 'Icy steps descend 10 ft to a time-ravaged hallway. Beyond the hall lies a frozen, sepulchral darkness.'  
The hall connects areas X1 and X4.

X2. Guard room  
There are two of these rooms. This empty room lies behind a secret door. The ceiling is 10 ft high.  
Guards are no longer posted here after it was discovered that keeping the North Wind locked up was enough to keep their servants here as well. Moreover, none of the servants have the intelligence to free the North Wind.

X3. Empty barracks  
Text: 'Shattered bits of wood cover the floor of this frigid, 20-ft-sq room.'  
The ceiling in each of these rooms is 10 ft high. The wood is all that remains of the guards's bunks.  
A secret door in one wall of each room can be pulled open to reveal area X2a or X2b beyond.

X4. Overlook  
Text: 'A 20-ft-wide balcony of solid ice with a shattered railing over looks a vast chamber. Ice-slab staircases at each end of the balcony descend 30 ft above the balcony. The walls, floor, and ceiling are all ice, lending the gloom a bluish sheen. A set of translucent ice-slab doors stands closed at the west end of the balcony. A similar pair stands open to the east.'  
If the PCs's light source or vision extends 90 ft or more, they see a large, cloud-like statue at the far end of the chamber (area X5a).  
The open doorway to the east leads to area X6. The double doors west open to X15. PCs who listen at the western doors hear gruff voices but can't discern the words.

X5. The 'guard'  
Text: 'Four massive columns of translucent ice support the vaulted ceiling, at the north end of which stands a 40-ft-tall blue ice statue of a cloud with humanoid but hollowed eyes and mouth.  
It stands between two ice-slab balconies, one of which has partially collapsed and fallen on the frozen floor, in front of an open doorway. Arched, glacial hallways lead away to the west and east. Flanking these exits are alcoves holding blue ice statues of yetis n chains. One yeti has toppled over and lies shattered on the floor.'  
Ned, the Beast's newest archmage (LE male, any race), was sent here on 'guard duty' after he got on the wrong side of the Beast's head accountant and manager of the Business Bats, Mr. Lippy (see Chap 4, area k30). Only once he arrived did he discover that there was no longer an official guard post here. He is on his way out, grumbling, when he encounters the characters. He attacks at once, believing that he can rub his unintended usefulness as a guard in Mr. Lippy's face.  
The onset of combat, however, wakes three hibernating black puddings into the chamber. They attack the creature nearest them.  
The ceiling is 60 ft high. Wide, ice-slab staircases ascend 30 ft to the southern balcony (area X4). The balconies that flank the statue (areas X11 and X23) are 30 ft high as well.  
The yeti statues are 8 ft tall.  
If asked why he attacks, Ned stops and can be persuaded not to continue attacking the PCs if the characters don't attack again. Ned carries a spelbook containing the archmage spells in the Monster Manual stat block. He wears a robe of useful items with the following remaining:  
Iron door  
Wooden ladder  
Riding horse  
Pit  
Rowboat  
Spell scroll (moonbeam)  
Mastiffs

X5A. The North Wind  
This 40-ft-tall statue, deep blue from the density of the ice, depicts the face of the North Wind. At the base is a secret door that can be found with a successful DC 20 Wis (Perception) check. It can be pulled open to reveal a spiral staircase that climbs to a trapdoor set into the floor of the statue's hidden chamber.  
A pair of 2-ft-wide eyeholes provides an unobstructed view of the chamber floor south of the statue as well as the southern balcony (area X4) but not the northern balconies or areas-nothing behind or above the statue.  
If your card reading reveals a treasure here, it's on the floor in the statue's head.

X5B. Secret door  
Set into the middle of the north wall is a secret door. A character searching the wall for secret doors and succeeds on a DC 20 Wis (Perception) check detects seams in the ice of the wall. It is warded by an arcone lock spell that prevents it from being opened, but knocking 3 times causes it to swing open for 1 min, revealing a staircase. The ice-slab stairs climb 30 ft to another secret door that swings open with 6 knocks. The stairs lead to area X30.

X5C. Locked doors  
These doors are sealed with an arcane lock spell. The password to suppress it is "Melt." A character can push a door open with a successful DC 25 Str check. The doors (AC 15, 60 hp) can also be smashed. If reduced to 0 hp, lightning fills the 30-ft-cube directly north of them. A creature in that area takes 22 (4d10) lightning damage, turning to dust if reduced to 0 hp. Beyond the doors lies area X31.

X5D. Ice mirror  
Text: 'This arched hall rises to a height of 20 ft. You can see your reflections in the crystal clear and glass-smooth ice. But the images don't mirror your movements. Instead, they wave their arms and scream noiselessly as though in warning.'  
These are illusions meant to discourage exploration of the prison. They can be dispelled with a DC 15.  
The east hall leads to area X32, the west hall to area X36.

X6. Southeast annex  
Text: 'This room is featureless except for a rough-edged, 10-ft-diameter circular hole in the floor to the east. Double doors of solid ice stand open to the north and west. A single closed door lies just south of the western set of double doors.'  
The ceiling is 20 ft high. Beyond the open doors to the north, the PCs can see a long, wide hallway (area X8).  
The hole in the floor forms a roughly hewn shaft that descends 20 ft, then breaks through the ceiling of area X33a. From the bottom, it's another 10-ft drop to the floor of area X33a. The shaft is built of slick ice and can't be climbed without magic.  
A secret door in the south wall opens to area X7.

X7. Secret scroll repository  
Text: 'Carved into the south wall of this frozen space are cylindrical holes fit for scrolls or maps.'  
The old wizard guard kept magic scrolls here, but they've been eaten by the black puddings.

X8. Upper east hall  
Text: 'The walls of this 20-ft-wide, 70-ft-long arched corridor are pure ice. The doors at both ends stand open. A closed door is in the middle of the east wall. Cracks in the floor run the length of the hall.'  
The cracks were made by squabbling yetis in area X10.

X9. Snow dragon's den  
Text: 'Huge piles of snow blanket the floor and cling to the solid ice walls. Descending stairs to the north and south peak up by the rails from the snow piles.'  
A young white dragon and servant of the North Wind has claimed this room for itself. The snow over the stairs is unstable and PCs who tread over them will fall 20 ft. Those who tread over the rows marked in red on the ORIGINAL CoS map of area X9 will also fall 20 ft. The snow is soft, however, and they take no falling damage.  
Hibernating 20 ft below the snow is the young white dragon. If a PC falls through the snow, they wake it and it attacks.  
Treasure  
At the bottom of the den, the dragon is hoarding an amulet taken from a guard it consumed ages ago. The amulet thrums when it comes within 10 ft of the shield guardian in area X35. It is the control amulet.

Part 2

X10. Northeast annex  
Text: 'The walls and ceiling in the eastern portion of this bare, frozen room have collapsed. To the west and south are open, ice-slab doors. In the center of the room is a 10-ft-tall statue of a yeti in chains made of cracked ice.'  
The ceiling here is 20 ft high. The statue has been cracked by four yetis in a territorial battle for this area. While they are currently licking their wounds, the entrance of the PCs throws them into another frenzy. They can, however, be tricked into fighting one another instead of the PCs.

X11. Northeast balcony  
Text: 'This ice-slab balcony, 30-ft-above the floor, overhangs the northeast corner of the chamber. The two frozen doors leading from this balcony stand open.'

X12. Shattered statue  
Text: 'The bare, frozen room consists of a foyer to the west and a shrapnel heap of shattered ice to the east. The shards are littered in a raised alcove at the eastern end of the chamber. Two pairs of empty alcoves line the north and south walls.'  
The brawling yetis in area X10 knocked over the ice statue of a yeti in chains. Doors in the west wall open to area X13.  
A secret door is set in the back of one of the alcoves on the north wall. It can be pulled open to area X14.

X13. Guard toilet  
Text: 'This narrow room has a frigid metal chamber pot at its center.'  
The ceiling is 10 ft high.

X14. North staircase  
When the PCs open the secret door at the top of the stairs: 'A corridor of ice heads north, then bends to the east, descending a dark staircase, blue at the edge of your light. The air is brittle and biting with cold.'  
Three 10-ft-long staircases with landings between them descend 30 ft total to area X14a. The air grows colder down the stairs.

X14A. Collapsed lower hall  
Text: 'The stairs descend to a collapsed glacial hall with a high ceiling and ice-slab walls. Frozen shrapnel covers most of the floor, and a path through the shards leads to an open doorway. The frigid air bites at your ears, nose, and lungs.'  
This ruined area once connected to area X32 but was destroyed by the wizard guard to seal it off. The ceiling is 25 ft high.  
Unless the PCs douse their lights and move quietly, the creatures in area X33c hear them and prepare an attack.

X15. Southwest annex  
This room contains a young white dragon, four gelatinous cubes, and one white dragon wyrmling. They are the servants of the North Wind.  
When they aren't expecting trouble, they try to hibernate, but the wyrmling keeps waking up, so the dragon tries to tell it stories to help it sleep. They all fight to the death.  
There is nothing of value here.  
A fissure has formed in the southwest wall and cold air seeps out from Winter Place through it. The gap is 2 ft wide, 10 ft tall, and 15 ft deep. It leads outside to area X1a. Those who listen from the outside can here the dragon's story (in Draconic). At the DM's discretion, it can be used to present the lore of Winter Place.  
A secret door in the south wall opens into area X16. None of them know of it, as they've always tried to hibernate to conserve energy until the North Wind is free.

X16. West scroll repository  
Apart from location, identical to area X7.

X17. Upper west hall  
Text: 'The walls of this 20-ft-wide, 70-ft-long arched corridor are built of solid slabs of ice. Several doors lead from this hall. At the hall's center are three pools of shadow.'  
Three black puddings hibernate here. They detect the PCs.

X18. Hallway  
Text: 'This 20-ft-long, 10-ft-high hallway of solid ice has a door at each end.'  
Area X17 lies beyond to the east, area X21 beyond to the west.

X19. Potion storage  
Text: 'Solid ice blocks cut to resemble tables stand at the center of this room. Carved into the stone walls are niches filled with hundreds of frost-covered bottles. Wooden ladders have frozen where they lean against the walls.'  
The ceiling here is 15 ft. The majority of bottles will shatter on contact, but 1d8 remain intact, containing frozen potions of healing used by the old guard.  
The ladders can no longer support weight without shattering.  
A secret door is set in the north wall. It can be pulled open to reveal a staircase landing in area X21.

X20. Architect's room  
Text: 'Dominating this room is a 12-ft-tall ice sculpture of a massive tree atop an almost equally massive pinnacle of ice. On one side in an archaically fancy script is carved: "No Fun for You!"'  
The model was built by the ancestor of Mr. Toymaker. Anyone who has seen the Elder Edelwood instantly recognizes the toy for what it is.  
THe ceiling here is 15 ft high. A secret door in the sout wall can be pulled open to a staircase landing area X21.  
If your card reading reveals a treasure, it's inside the Elder Edelwood toy model. The characters must smash their way into the toy to reach it.

X21. West staircase  
Three 10-ft-long staircases separated by 10-ft-sq landings connect areas X18 and X36. The upppermost landing has secret doors set into its north and south walls. The south door opens into area X19 and the north door opens into area X20.

X22. Northwest annex  
When one of the doors to this room is opened: 'A long table carved from one massive block of ice stands at the center of this room. Three shaggy, lanky beasts use it as a bunk bed.'  
The three yetis will wake if the PCs carry a light source. Otherwise, the PCs can make a DC 15 Dex (Stealth) check to sneak by.

X23. Northwest balcony  
Text: 'This ice-slab balcony overhangs the northwest corner of the chamber, the floor of which lies 30 ft below. Nearly half the balcony has fallen away, leaving jagged edges and fractaling cracks.'  
This balcony is unsafe. Weight over 250 lbs causes it to collapse. Any creature on the balcony when it collapses falls 30 ft to the floor.

X24. West statue  
Text: 'This bare, frozen room consists of a foyer to the east and a statue to the west. The ice sculpture depicts a yeti in chains, standing with its head bowed. Two pairs of alcoves line the north and south walls.'  
The ice statue weighs 250 lbs. Any living creature that enters this room must succeed on a DC 1 Wis save or be drawn to the statue as though affected by the sympathy spell. Covering the statue or destroying it suppresses the magic and ends the sympathy.  
The doors in the east wall open to X25. A secret door is set in the back of one of the northern alcoves. Pulling it open releases a gelatinous cube.

X25. Guard toilet  
Text: 'This narrow room has a frigid metal chamber pot at its center.'  
The ceiling is 10 ft high.

X26. Secret alcove  
Two secret doors lead to this room. When either door is pulled open, a gelatinous cube is released (one adhered to each door in hibernation).  
This room has a 30-ft-high ceiling.  
Text: 'Attached to the 30-ft-high ceiling is an upside-down metal chest.'  
The metal chest is held in place by four gelatinous cubes. Its lid is sealed with an arcane lock spell. The chest is impervious to weapon damage. Prying it open requires a DC 25 Str check. The inside is lined with lead.  
If opened, it triggers a disintegrate spell, creating a 10-ft-sq hole above area X39. Creatures standing on the floor fall 30 ft, landing in the northwest corner of area X39.  
The chest is empty.

X27. Den of the yetis  
Text: 'This 15-ft-high room has been frozen in time. Ornate furniture, exquisite rugs and tapestires, and decorative statuary all lie under a thick sheet of translucent ice. Curled up in the center of the room are three massive, shaggy pelts.'  
An abominable yeti and its two children yetis are hibernating here. They attack if woken by PCs failing a DC 10 Dex (Stealth) check or if the PCs are using light sources.  
On the table, under the translucent sheet of ice is an unrolled parchment scroll that lists the passwords of all the locked doors. If the PCs break through the ice, they discover more sheets under it that give the background information presented at the beginning of the chapter. Several quill pens have frozen to the parchment sheets and break if removed.  
There are 3 secret doors. The door to area X28 has an arcane lock spell cast on it. The password to suppress the spell is "Blow."

X28. Master bedroom  
The secret door to this room has an arcane lock spell (see area X27).  
Text: 'Behind this door is a small bedroom frozen in time. A solid sheet of translucent ice lays over the ornately carved and decorated bed and furnishings.'  
There is nothing valuable here.

X29. Secret room  
Text: 'This is a bare, frozen room.'  
The ceiling is 10 ft high.

X30. Preserved library  
Text: 'This library carved out from ice has 20-ft-high walls and a 30-ft-high vaulted ceiling. A railing of ice encloses a glacial staircase that spirals gently down a 30-ft-wide, 30-ft-deep shaft to the north. Sculpted into the frozen walls stand 6, 10-ft-tall bookcases. On their shelves are hundreds of frost-encrusted tomes. A solid sheet of translucent ice covers embroidered rugs, chairs, and furnishings in the south.'  
The spiral stair descend 30 ft to area X42.  
There are no surviving ladders to reach the high shelves. All the books are frozen shut. Only by carefully defrosting the books can they be opened. They belonged to the wizard guard and appear to have blank covers and empty pages. They require a command word (found in area X27) to read or a true seeing spell.  
Many spellbooks are here, collectively holding every spell in the Player's Handbook. But a book taken from the library disintegrates as the magic preserving it is dispelled. The same goes for the furnishings.  
The secret door in the center of the west wall can be pulled open to reveal an empty room (area X29). The one in the center of the south wall can be pulled open to reveal a staircase that descends 30 ft to another secret door leading to area X5.

Part 3

X31. Central prison  
These cells contain those deemed the worst offenders of the North Wind's. They are in hibernation to preserve energy.  
Text: 'You are greeted by a blast of frigid air that bites through your flesh to the very bone. The ice of these walls is darker, denser and glitters blue in your light.'

X31A. West prison  
This prison contains an air elemental that attacks if the PCs carry light sources and/or fail a DC 15 Dex (Stealth) check.  
Text: 'The cold air whirls up into a vortex between the close, ice-slab walls. You feel your skin pulling away from your flesh.'

X31B. East prison  
This prison contains a water elemental that attacks if the PCs carry light sources and/or fail a DC 15 Dex (Stealth) check.  
Text: 'Beads like sweat gather along the close, ice-slab walls. The unnatural liquid oozes down, pooling cold as ice at your feet.'

X32. Lower east hall  
Text: 'The walls and ceiling of this great hall are covered by a solid slab of translucent ice that glistens blue. To the north, the hall has collapsed, leaving frozen shrapnel.  
Many doors of ice lead from this hall. Standing in front of the south door are three, shaggy-haired mammoths. Their eyes are closed and icicles hang from the curves of their massive tusks.'  
The ancient guard collapsed the hall to keep the creatures within the prisons at a distance.  
The three hibernating mammoths wake if the PCs fail a DC 10 Dex (Stealth) check or disturb them in any way, including moving through their space to get to the door.

X33. Ice vaults  
Each of these rooms contains two or more frozen spirits. The doors are sealed with arcane lock spells that require a password to suppress. A PC can push open the doors with a successful DC 25 Str check. The door (AC 15, 30 hp) can also be smashed at the loss of all stealth. If the door is reduced to 0 hp, lightning fills the 30-ft cube directly in front of it. A creature in the area takes 22 (4d10) lightning damage, turning to dust if reduced to 0 hp.

Frozen spirits  
These are the servants of the North Wind who were too delicate to maintain their physical form even while nourished by the North Wind's life force. Instead, the North Wind has frozen their spirits in pure, winter ice to prevent them from getting trapped in the mists.  
The winter ice blooks are 8 ft tall, 5 ft wide, and 5 ft thick. Inside is a sliver or glowing wisp of a spirit no more than a few inches long. The spirit can't be harmed or controlled, and is immune to al condiitons.  
The winter ice block has AC 16, 80 hit points, and immunity to poison and psychic damage. Destroying one causes the spirit inside to disappear in the mists, leaving no trace but an echoing scream that wakes any nearby hibernating creatures.  
A creature that touches a winter ice block forms a telepathic link with the spirit inside. The spirits are sentient, intelligent creatures capable of speech and retaining all of their memories.

X33A. Password: Chilly  
Text: 'This room has walls and a floor of glittering blue ice and a shaft in the center of its 10-ft-high ceiling. Three ice blocks stand in alcoves, pooling three black, amorphous shadows in front of them.'  
The shadows are black puddings that attack anyone detected.  
The shaft is 10 ft wide, 20 ft long, and can't be climbed without magic. It leads to area X6.  
West block-belongs to the spirit of Phil, who died of pox.  
South block-belongs to Hailey, who died from the lightning spell on the doors.  
East block-belongs to Skylar, who died from hunger.

X33B. Password: Moist  
Text: 'This room has walls and a floor of glittering blue ice. Three ice blocks stand in alcoves.'  
The ceiling is 10-ft-high.  
North block-belongs to Savory, who died of boredom.  
East block-belongs to Tara, who died of a fall from one of the balconies.  
South block-belongs to Sham, who died of dehydration.

X33C. Ghastly vault  
The door hangs open.  
Text: 'This room has walls and a floor of glittering blue ice. Three ice blocks stand in alcoves.'  
The ceiling is 10 ft high. There are seven gelatinous cubes here that fight to the death.  
North block-belongs to Dax, who died from a bad climb and worse fall.  
East block-belongs to Donny, who died choking on a bone.  
South block-belongs to Angela, who died from accidentally sprinting into translucent ice trying to escape.

X33D. Breached vault  
Text: 'This room has walls and a floor of glittering blue ice. Two ice blocks stand in alcoves. A third that once stood in the north alcove lies shattered on the floor. Clustered in the middle of the room are three, shaggy-furred heaps.'  
Three yetis hibernate here. They wake if the PCs carry light sources and fail a DC 15 Dex (Stealth) check. They fight to the death for their territory, possibly destroying more winter ice blocks in the process, but will not leave the room.  
West block-belongs to Delmar, who died of hypothermia.  
Other west block-belongs to Kiran, who died from falling into a drunken slumber beside a life-saving fire and catching.

X33E. Password: Hoary  
Text: 'This room has walls and a floor of glittering blue ice. Three ice blocks stand in alcoves. In the middle of the room lies a massive heap of shaggy fur.'  
An abominable yeti hibernates here. It wakes if the PCs carry light sources and fail a DC 15 Dex (Stealth) check. It fights to the death but won't leave its territory.  
North block-belongs to Erwin, who died of an eye infection.  
West block-belongs to Tammy, who died of accidental decapitation.  
South block-belongs to Wally, who died of damage by falling shrapnel.

X33F. Password: Frosty  
Text: 'This room has walls and a floor of glittering blue ice. Three ice blocks stand in alcoves.'  
West block-belongs to Norman, who died of drinking an expired potion.  
South block-belongs to Vicky, who died of teleporting into a locked, frozen room from which she could not escape.  
East block-belongs to Sara, who died getting into a spat with the yetis.

X34. Sara, Vicky, and Norman's bedchamber  
Sara, Vicky, and Norman were wizards allied to the North Wind and imprisoned with the Wind. They set up this room to dorm together, but ended up getting into a spat with the yetis over some of the more shiny contents. They ended up dead as a result, though only Sara was killed directly by the yetis.  
Text: 'A triple bunk bed of sculpted ice stands in the center of this bare, frozen room. Its mattress has been completely encased in frost. The room's furnishings have been reduced to frost-encrusted heaps. Arcane sigils have been carved into the walls.'  
The ceiling is 10 ft high. The sigils were once wards to protect the room's contents from theft, but have been bled of their magic by persistent yetis and can no longer cause harm.  
If the PCs break through the ice over the top mattress, they can discover three gold +1 rings of protection.

X35. Prison guardian  
Text: 'The furnishings of this bare, frozen room have been reduced to frost-encrusted rubble heaps. Standing in the center of the room, its head scraping the 10-ft-high ceiling, is a vaguely humanoid construct made of metal. Its helmed head starts blindly in your direction.'  
This room once belonged to Phil, Hailey, and Skylar, servants of the North Wind who fell sick with pox before imprisonment and were quarantined together. When Phil died, the others tried to open the quarantine chamber but found it locked. Hailey kept trying and was electrocuted to death. Skylar was too traumatized by the successive deaths of her fellow inmates to accept the nourishing life force of the North Wind and rapidly died of cold and starvation.  
The construct is an incapacitated shield guardian that used to patrol the prison before the guards lost the control amulet (see area X9). They never recovered it, being decommissioned shortly thereafter.

X36. Lower west hall  
Text: 'Glittering, translucent blue ice stands in dense slabs, forming the walls, floor, and ceiling of this enormous hall. The vaulted ceiling is 25-ft high. Set into the walls at a height of 5 ft are ice ledges lined with life-sized statues of yetis in chains, their heads bowed. Many statues have fallen and litter the floor with their jagged, frozen shrapnel.  
A door in the north wall stands open. Four other doors to the west and south stand closed.'  
The statues are mildly demoralizing and uncomfortable to look at but harmless.  
The servants Dax, Donny, Angela, Erwin, Tammy, and Wally once met in this room in secret to plot their escape from the prison. They made it to the upper levels but ran into trouble with the territorial yetis who ended up pursuing and causing their deaths by one indirect means or another.

X37. Burned bedchamber  
Text: 'This is a room frozen in time. A dense coat of translucent ice lies over a bedchamber and furnishings that went up in flames.'  
Delmar, Kiran, and their companion lost to time were the first of the North Wind's servants to die in prison. They'd taken mass amounts of alcohol with them into the prison and drank themselves into a stupor on the first night. Delmar quickly died of hypothermia. Kiran, oblivious to the condition of his friend, fell asleep with the other. Both died in the fire.

X38. Savory, Tara, and Sham's bedchamber  
Text: 'A triple bunk bed of sculpted ice stands in the center of this bare, frozen room. Its mattress has been completely encased in frost. The room's furnishings have been reduced to frost-encrusted heaps.'  
The ceiling is 10 ft high. Savory, Tara, and Sham were the other three to have taken mass quantities of alcohol into the prison with them. They saved it up until they finally couldn't stand their imprisonment and broke it all out. Then decided that they wanted to escape. They encountered no threats by others but ended up getting killed by their own drunken antics.

Part 3

X39. Guard room  
Text: 'The frozen doors that once sealed this great room of dense, glimmering blue ice have been smashed. Their huge, jagged shards litter the floor. A 10-ft-tall statue carved of stone stands against the back wall. Its head turns, grinding stone against stone, to face you.'  
The ceiling here is 30 ft high and flat. A 10-ft-square hole in the northwest corner of the ceiling forms if the chest in area X26 is opened.  
This stone golem is an active and overzealous guard that broke through its own doors rather than wait for the magic to open them on the job. It attacks at once and will chase the PCs throughout the lower levels of Winter Place but will not follow them up.

X40. Workshop of the North Wind  
The doors to the south are sealed with an arcane lock spell. The password to suppress the spell is: "Snowball." PCs cannot open the extra-dense ice door without the magic, and attempts to do so alert the stone golem guard in area X39.  
Text: 'A thunderous crack shakes Winter Place, the doors of this cell bursting open. They fly off their hinges, shattering in the hall behind you. The air within is unnaturally cold and still. It draws the heat from your body in a visible mist around you. Through the clouds of your own breath rapidly diminishing heat, you see six sculptures of ice. They appear to see you as well.'  
If the Highwayman is with the PCs he will fall to his knees and beg the North Wind as an ancient god to restore life to his sister Patty. The North Wind speaks through the ice sculptures of yetis in exultation. The Wind will agree if the PCs speak up on the Highwayman's behalf in honor of their help in the liberation of themselves and their servants. The North Wind gives the Highwayman a coin of ice to place on Patty containing the Wind's life-giving breath. Once this boon is asked, the North Wind leaves Winter Place forever, blowing up the slopes of the mountain to recover strength.  
If your card reading reveals a treasure, it's in the hands of one of the exultant yeti sculptures.

X41. Fissure  
Upon liberation, the North Wind shakes Winter Place to the very core, opening up a fissure between areas X40 and X42 through which to escape. The openings are 3 ft wide, 8 ft high, and 10 ft deep.

X42. The Quartermaster's  
Text: 'An ice-slab staircase hugs the north wall as it spirals up a 30-ft-wide shaft. Lying in the middle of the room are six piles of frost-encrusted equipment thrown from the frozen shelves on the walls.  
The west, south, and east walls contain alcoves, and standing in each is a pedestal of ice on which sits an immaculate but blank book.'  
The spiral staircase climbs 30 ft to area X30.  
This room once served as the stock room for the old wizard and warrior guard. They left the equipment here when they departed.  
Pile 1  
-Three suits of plate armor  
-Nine shields

Pile 2  
-Five suits of ring mail and six breastplates  
-A silvered rapier with a pink glass hilt  
-Four greatswords

Pile 3  
-75 empty bottles  
-A trunk filled with six fine sets of evening clothes, never worn

Pile 4  
-Eight warhammers and six war picks

Pile 5  
-Six no longer magical crystal balls  
-The frozen remains of six barrels of alcohol

Pile 6  
-Eleven helms  
-A no longer magical obsidian scepter with gold filigree (worth 2500 gp in any town's currency item)

The three books can't be read with a spell of read magic. Each contains not a spell but a ritual to obtain an eldritch power.  
West book-contains a ritual to become a vampire. The creature must slay a humanoid that loves or reveres them, then drink all of its blood within 1 hour of its death. The creature must then die by the hands of someone who hates them. When the conditions are met, the creature instantly becomes a vampire with the following idiosyncracy: 'I am surrounded by hidden enemies seeking to destroy me. I can't trust anyone.'  
South book-contains a ritual to become a lich, available to any humanoid that can cast 9th-level wizard spells. The creature must craft a phylactery and imbue it with the power to contain a soul, then concoct a potion of transformation to enable the transition from humanoid to lich. A phylactery takes 10 days. A potion takes 3 days but expires after the next 3 days. When the creature drinks the potion, they instantly become a lich. The gain the following idiosyncracy: 'All I care about is acquiring new magic and arcane knowledge.'  
East book-contains a ritual to restore the dead to life. The effect is identical to resurrectoin, but it works regardless of how long the creature has been dead. The creature must burn the book to ash and rub the ash over the dead's remains. The ash will form a cocoon and instantly restore the dead to life. But the one who performs the ritual is permanently streaked with the book's ash, preventing the book's reconstruction.  
Teleport destination  
Characters who teleport to this location from area K78 in the Elder Edelwood arrive at the point marked T on the ORIGINAL CoS map.

Special Events  
Exodus  
Once the PCs free the North Wind, all the servants of the North Wind are also freed and escape from Winter Place in a frentic stampede. Dragons fly, yetis sprint, and jellies ooze out as fast as they can. The remaining guardians attack to stop them but will ignore the PCs for in favor of the flashier servants. The servants only attack the PCs if they get in the way of their escape.

The Highwayman's Coin  
If the Highwayman (see appendix D and Chap 5, area N9a) finds his way to area X40 and gets the breath of the North Wind with the help of the PCs, he'll ask them to accompany him to the rootbed of the Elder Edelwood to restore Patty to life (see Chap 4, area K84, rootbed 21).  
Development  
If Patty is restored to life by her brother (see Chap 13), she returns as an archmage with no spells prepared. If the characters have her spellbook, she asks for it back to help destroy the Beast. If the characters oblige, she joins them in the final fight against the Beast, but her harrowing experiences have left her extremely susceptible to the mists and she will become a mist-possessed during the encounter. As a mist-possessed, she will attack the nearest moving creature, friend or foe alike.


	15. Chapter 15

Chap 15: The Seed Garden

The Druids who once worshipped the Caretaker of the Unknown now worship the Beast as the lord of the land master of the weather. They gather upon a hill known to them as the Seed Garden. They are the Beast's chosen guardians for his Tree of (Edelwood) Seeds.

Areas of the Garden  
The following locations correspond to the labels on the ORIGINAL CoS map of Yester Hill on pg 199.

Y1. Trail  
Text: 'The trail through the thick, autumn-leaved woods leads to a hill covered with dry, golden grass and cairns of black rock. Rolling gray clouds span the sky above. West of the hill, the land, the woods, and the sky fade into a towering wall of fog.'  
The trail splits as it climbs the hillside, forming 2 concentric rings (area Y2).

Y2. Berserker cairns  
Text: 'Dirt trails run along 2 concentric rins of cairns that encircle the hillside. Each cairn is a 10-ft-high mound of glassy black rocks.'  
The burial mounds belong to the race of fey that died out, all save Granny Lee. Their bones lie beneath, nubby horns protruding from the skulls.

Y3. Druid's circle  
Text: 'Atop the hill is a wide ring of black boulders and smaller rocks that together form a makeshift wall enclosing a field of dry, golden grass. A 50-ft-tall statue of tightly woven twigs and packed with black earth resembles a towering, cloaked man sprouting antlers from his head.'  
The giant statue is a wicker idol of the Beast. Close inspection reveals roots sprouting from the ground around its base. They're part of the Tree of Seeds in area Y4. They wrap around the statue to support it. They prevent it from being toppled and allow the idol to be used in their tree-blight creating ritual (see special events).  
The statue has AC 10, 50 hp, and immunity to poison and psychic damage. If it takes fire damage after being splashed with oil, it catches fire, taking 2d6 fire damage each round. If reduced to 0 hp, it collapses.  
Hidden graves  
Hidden throughout the field inside the boulders are six evil druids (male and female, any race) and six berserkers (CE male and female, any race). They are covered in mud from sleeping in the earthen graves to represent their root-like connection with the Beast and the Unknown.  
PCs entering the circle with passive Wis (Percepton) of 16 or higher notice the dozen covered graves throughout the field. The druids and berserkes rise and attack anyone who approaches or damages the statue, or if they are discovered/attacked.  
They are waiting to begin a ritual to create an enormous tree blight. Only one druid is needed to complete it, but they are waiting for the appearance of their honored guest, the Beast.  
Development  
If the druids and berserkers are killed, their numbers are replenished by those returning from the Edelwood forest. At the end of the day, at dusk, 1d4-1 druids and 1d4-1 berserkers arrive until there are 6 each.

Y4. Tree of Seeds  
Text: 'At the south end of the hilltop is a copse, a grove of trees and shrubs with a huge, misshapen tree at its core. Black sap oozes like blood from its twisted trunk. Its branches, heavy-laden with dark, bulbous growths sweep the tops of the tall, golden grasses. Skulking under the tree are 6 gangly humanoids covered with needles.'  
This is the Beast's Tree of Edelwood Seeds. Every month, a few of the bulbous orbs pop open, dropping the seed within. The druids burn these seeds whose smoke fills the air with the Song of the Beast. The smoke then joins the mist. Those who succumb to the Song and fall into Edelwood Slumber inhale the seed, which takes root inside them and turns them into a living tuber from which to grow, eventually turning them into Edelwood trees.  
Lurking among the trees and shrubs are the Tree's guardians: 3 vine blights,  
6 needle blights, and 12 twig blights. The needle blights are plainly visible, but the False Appearance of the vine and twig blights allows them to hide in plain sight. They attack any who harms the Tree.  
The Tree of Seeds has AC 15, 250 hp, and immunity to bludgeoning, piercing, and psychic damage. If reduced to 0 hp, it seems to be destroyed but isn't truly dead: it regains 1 hp every month until fully healed so long as the Beast lives. With a successful DC 15 Int (Nature) check, a PC can determine that its lifeforce is tied to the Beast's.  
The Tree creates blights from ordinary plants and is the only one of its kind in the Unknown. Chopping down the tree is worth 1500 XP.  
If your card reading reveals a treasure, it's buried amid the roots. PCs who dig in the ground automatically find it.

Y5. Wall of fog  
Text: 'As you look west into the curtain of fog, you see a blue sky and summer sun. A deciduous forest stretches out for miles before you, lush and green. The fog obscures all detail, but you can hear the clean and song-like flow of a nearby river.'  
The spirits in the mist have created this false image, a memory, of the Unknown in summer. It draws creatures to it, but any that enters is subject to its effects (see Chap 2).  
If the PCs ask an NPC spellcaster about this part of the wall of fog, they suspect that it is fed by the good memories of the spirits trapped in the mist, twisting the spirits as it devours all pleasant remnants.

Special Events  
You can use one or both while the characters explore the Garden of Seeds.  
Druid's ritual  
You can allow this event to unfold regardless of whether the PCs have visited the Seed Garden. They can still deal with the aftermath (see Treebert in Chap 12).  
The Beast travels to the Garden of Seeds, prompting the druids in area Y3 to rise from the graves and begin the ritual. They use their actions to chant and dance about (including the Beast). To complete the ritual, the druids must chant for 10 consecutive rounds, with at least one of them chanting each round. If a round goes by and none can chant on their turn, the ritual is ruined and must be started anew.  
If the Tree of Seeds (area Y4) has been reduced to 0 hp, the ritual doesn't work. Druids who realize the tree is destroyed know enough not to attempt the ritual.  
Development  
If the PCs are present at the completion: 'A 30-ft-tall plant creature bursts out of the statue, sending twigs and earth flying. It resembles a dead-eyed treant and oozes black sap.'  
The creature is a tree blight (see appendix D) that the druids call Treebert. They command it to travel north and lay waste to the Mulch Fields (Chap 12).  
Once Treebert departs, the Beast takes the druids and berserkers to gaze with him at the image in the west (see area Y5).

Blood Spear of Kevin  
The spirit of Kevin, a long-dead druid and chieftan from the time before the Beast, reaches out to a character-preferably a barbarian, druid, or ranger.  
Text: 'You hear a wordless whisper carried on the wind. The stone of a cairn topples from the mound.'  
When the PC approaches within 30 ft of the cairn, they feel the presence of Kevin's magic spear under the rocks.  
The rocks are heavy but can be rolled aside, revealing a blood spear (see appendix C) lying amid the bones of Kevin and his trusted barbarians. Any creature can wield the spear, but only the chosen character gains +2 to attack and damage made with the magic weapon.


	16. Chapter 16

Chap 16: Landboat of Frogs

West of Lake Barking is a cave complex in which the largest community of Unknown Frogfolk have built up using the remains of ferries that sunk (or were made to sink) while crossing the lake. PCs who talk to Frogfolk can learn of the Landboat's location. Most of the Frogfolk are out hunting or frolicking in mud and water of the lake when the PCs first arrive, including the leader of the Landboat, Frogfolk George.  
The Frogfolk practice ancestor worship and call themselves the Children of Mother Frog, the first of their shapeshifting kind to be stuck between humanoid and frog forms. Recently, a schism has formed within the colony as a result of a challenge to Frogfolk George's leadership. The rift began when Frogfolk Emil questioned the brand of worship to Mother Frog that Frogfolk George demanded of the colony.  
Frogfolk George had erected a stage over the shrine to Mother Frog where the Frogfolk must sing, dance, or act for the glory of Mother Frog. Those who fail to perform well are banished from the colony on journey quests to regain their honor. They are not allowed to return until they've honed their performance ability. This has resulted in banishments of large groups from the colony, notably those who've gotten on Frogfolk George's vindictive side. Now that their numbers are dwindling, Frogfolk George has recently given and expressed thought of kidnapping Frogfolk from other colonies to join their 'master' colony within the Landboat.  
Frogfolk Emil made the mistake of questioning all of Frogfolk George's ideas and was made to perform for Mother Frog. Naturally, he failed and was banished. Frogfolk George made sure he'd never have the chance to 'regain his honor' by making a deal with the servants of the Beast to imprison Frogfolk Emil within the Elder Edelwood.  
Now Frogfolk Julie, Frogfolk Emil's mate, has sworn vengeance on Frogfolk George. She's much more cautious than her mate, however, and spends her time quietly plotting and waiting for an opportunity.

Approaching the Landboat  
Text: 'Above the autumnal-leaved tree line, jammed into the side of a rocky mountain spur, is the wide hull of a massive boat.'  
100 ft ft above the entrance (area Z1), farther up the sloping mountainshide and not visible from the vicinity, is a rocky ledge (area Z8). A character can scale the slope to reach the ledge without the need for a climber's kit.

Areas of the Landboat  
The following areas correspond to labels on the map of the ORIGINAL CoS werewolf den on pg 202.  
Mounted to the walls throughout the landboat are candelabras. All areas are brightly lit, though shadows abound.

Z1. Entrance  
Text: 'The hull of the mountain-borne boat juts out 15-ft-tall over a massive set of double doors held open by small boulders. The boat ceiling rises 20 ft inside the mountainside. Candelabras line the walls. From somewhere deep inside, you hear the echoing sounds of a flute. Some of the notes are discordant-painfully so.'  
The guards in area Z2 spot the characters in the entrance who aren't hidden. Characters can track the sound of the flute to area Z3.  
Development  
If the PCs arrive with Frogfolk Emil (see Chap 4, area K75a) in their company or custody, he can command the other Frogfolk not to attack as they make their way inside.

Z2. Guard post  
Text: 'Here, the boat hall splits to the left and right. Standing on a 5-ft-ledge between the divide are two anthropomorphic frogs in frumpy clothes wielding what appear to be tridents for...frog-hunting.'  
Frogfolk Ian and Frogfolk Angie are the Frogfolk guards on the ledge. They take their roles extremely seriously and sound the alarm whenever anyone enters. The loud noise can be heard throughout the Landboat, but the Frogfolk ignore it as it happens at least once a day.

Z3. Landboat parlor  
10 Frogfolk are here practicing the performing arts in case they get called to the stage while in hunting rotation. Frogfolk Kenneth has 36 hp and is too old to hunt. Left undisturbed, he plays an electrum flute, though poorly. The others try (in vain) to memorize poetry, songs, or theatrics. If the Frogfolk spot the PCs, they will drag them into the parlor to use as a practice audience. If the PCs try to escape, they turn hostile and fight to the death.  
Text: 'A 5-ft-high balcony overlooks this wood-panneled parlor, which has a smoldering hearth at the far west end. The floor is littered with ink-smudged papers.'  
Frogfolk Kenneth's flut is nonmagical and worth 250 gp's worth of currency item at any settlement.

Z4. Fountain  
Text: 'The ceiling opens up to allow gray light and a gentle spring of water to flow down into the great "indoor" fountain roughly 40 ft across and 10 ft deep. A 5-ft-high balcony to the north overlooks the pool of the fountain. A similar balcony spans the eastern wall, with a wooden staircase leading up to it. A few crates sit atop the eastern ledge.'  
The water is fresh. The ceiling is roughly 20 ft above the surface of the pool. The opening in the ceiling is 3 ft wide at its widest point and 6 inches at the tapered edges.  
The crates contain worthless clothes.

Z5. Deep "decks"  
Text: 'A maze of candlelit halls and chambers expands in front of you. The floorboards creak in the distance.'  
The ceiling is 10 ft high. The creaky floorboards are a warning system. Creatures have disadvantage on Dex (Stealth) checks made to move silently through this area.

Z5A. South deck  
Frogfolk Blanche, Frogfolk George's mate, is sleeping here. She'll kill anyone who enters and disturbs her sleep. If the PCs play dead, she'll return to sleep.

Z5B. North cave  
Frogfolk Sandy is here on guard duty over Frogfolk Kelly, a Frogfolk from the Lake Froget colony who was kidnapped. Frogfolk George is experimenting with brainwashing to convince Frogfolk Kelly that they joined the Landboat of Frogs willingly. It works half the time, but Frogfolk Kelly changes attitudes between happy, complacent and scared to witless violence every 30 min.  
When Frogfolk Sandy hears a creak, she takes Frogfolk Kelly to area Z7 and locks her in an empty cage. Frogfolk Sandy will then join the other Frogfolk, possibly in their fight against the PCs.

Z6. Captain's room  
Text: 'At the back of this room hangs a map of the Unknown and a plumed, ship captain's hat hanging from a rack beside it.'  
When home, Frogfolk George sleeps here.  
Behind the map is a 10-ft-high, 10-ft-wide hall wtih wooden stairs leading up, interspersed with landings. The hall ends at a secret door, beyond which lies area Z8. The secret door is easily spotted from inside the hall.

Z7. Stage of Mother Frog  
Text: 'Creaky wooden stairs lead down to a candlelit but seatless auditorium and stage. Bulge-eyed Frogfolk hunch behind wooden bars and stare at you mournfully, clutching instruments or papers in their webbed hands. The cave holds six wooden cages, their lids held shut with heavy rocks. Two are empty, and each of the others holds a Frogfolk.  
A wooden podium stands between the cages. Its front is carved like a masthead and depicts a massive Frogfolk with musical instruments and theatrical masks adhered to their body. A Frogfolk kneels before the podium, dusting with a feather duster.'  
The ceiling is 20 ft high. The masthead depicts Mother Frog, and Frogfolk Julie is dusting her. She is the wife of Frogfolk Emil (see Chap 4, area K75a).  
Frogfolk George has ordered Frogfolk Julie to guard the Frogfolk scheduled to perform upon his return. If the PCs rescue Frogfolk Emil and return him to Frogfolk Julie, she gladly releases the caged Frogfolk. If the PCs confirm her husband is dead, she will let them go only if the PCs help her deal with Frogfolk George. Shes asks them to kill him when he returns from hunting.  
The caged Frogfolk are in despair and desperately fighting off the mists while caged. Only when freed will their spirits return to flee or help the PCs.  
Treasure is piled at the base of the podium-4500 cp, 900 sp, and 250 gp's currency items worth of gemstones. But anyone who steals from Mother Frog is cursed, as is known by all Frogfolk.  
Any creature that takes a gemstone is haunted by horrible dreams every night lasting from dusk until dawn. Moreover, they lose the ability to swim and will sink like a stone in water.  
A creature cursed this way gains no benefit from a short or long rest at night, but may rest during the day. A greater restoration or remove curse spell ends the curse.  
If your card reading reveals a treasure is here, it's under the gemstones and cursed as well.

Z8. Brainwashing circle  
Text: 'A 20-ft-diameter ring of stones dominates a rocky ledge on the mountainside. Within the ring, you see blood-splattered manacles.'  
This is where Frogfolk George has been torturing the kidnapped Frogfolk Kenneth to brainwash him into believing he is part of the Landboat. Frogfolk George hopes to refine the process to eventually expand the kidnappings.

Special Event  
You can use the following special event while the PCs are exploring or resting in the den.

Captain of the Colony  
This event doesn't occur if the PCs have previously encountered and defeated Frogfolk George's hunting pack.  
Every hour the PCs spend inside the Landboat, roll a d20. On a roll of 18 or higher, the hunting party returns, laden with strings of fish and small, black turtles. The party consists of Frogfolk George (90 hp) and 15 othe Frogfolk.  
If they see evidence of assault on the Landboat (such as absent or dead guards at area Z2), they scour the Landboat for intruders. Frogfolk George sends three to area Z8 to enter from above while he and the others search below.  
Development  
As long as Frogfolk George lives, the PCs can't negotiate with the Frogfolk. If Frogfolk George dies and the PCs have the upper hand, the colony negotiates.  
If Frogfolk Emil is present when Frogfolk George arrives, he is determined to become the new pack leader. If he succeeds, he allows the PCs to leave unmolested and releases the caged Frogfolk. Frogfolk Julie, who knows about Frogfolk Kenneth, can ask him to release the kidnapped Frogfolk if the PCs remind her.  
Frogfolk George and Frogfolk Emil gather the Frogfolk and hold a dance-off for the glory of Mother Frog and the title of Captain in area Z7. But when it comes time to judge the winner, Frogfolk George picks up his Captain's hat and goes to the podium. He declares himself the winner and asks the Frogfolk kill the loser. His 15-frog hunting pack obliges and attacks Frogfolk Emil and the PCs.  
If both Frogfolk George and Frogfolk Emil die, Frogfolk Julie will become the new Captain and negotiate with the PCs.


	17. Chapter 17

Chap 17: Epilogue

The Beast is a deadly challenge for the PCs. If they confront him too soon, without the benefit of the magic items such as the All-Seeing Monocle and the Claw-Hand Maw, they will likely perish. PCs can improve their chances of survival by exploring the Unknown, defeating lesser evils, gaining allies, magic items, and experience. The outcome of the final showdown between the Beast and the PCs determines how the adventure ends.

The Beast Prevails  
Once finished toying and investigating the PCs, the Beast sets out to turn them into Edelwood trees, having concluded that none is a worthy caretaker. If he prevails, the Beast seals the PCs in the rootbed of the Elder Edelwood (Chap 4, area K84, rootbed 23) and instructs his servants to remove all their items. He leaves them there to despair and fall into Edelwood Slumber. They join the roots of the Elder Edelwood and serve to feed the massive tree itself.

The Beast Is Dead  
When the Beast is reduced to 0 hp, he turns to mist and retreats to his hole in the Elder Edelwood. He must be in the hole from whence he came to be utterly destroyed.  
Text: 'The Beast can't hide his surprise as death drags him to the edge of its black abyss. Surprise turns to rage. The Thronestone trembles with fury, shaking dust from its root-pierced walls. The shudders abate as the Beast's burning hatred snuffs out, vanishing like smoke in a fog. His hole-ridden husk withers and twists in on itself, shearing into a pile of wood dust. The Beast of the Unknown is dead and gone.'

Steward's Revenge  
If the Beast dies but Steward yet lives, the steward appears moments after the Beast's demise.  
Text: '"Master!" says a metallic, monotone voice form behind you, followed by an equally metallic and monotone scream.'  
Steward attacks the PCs and can't be reasoned with.

Escape from the Unknown  
The Beast's death frees the Unknown from the hold of the mists. If the PCs freed the North Wind, the Wind blows down from the mountains, clearing the fog. The gray cloud cover dissipates, giving way to sunshine on this cold, crisp day. The light shocks the denizens of the Unknown from any despair, and those in Edelwood Slumber who haven't become trees wake.

Aftermath  
Without the mist and song to twist the denizens of the Unknown, all animals and fey regain their reason. Those souls trapped in the mist finally pass from this world. All the leaves fall from the Edelwood trees, including the Elder Edelwood, whose dead wood has already attracted mass swarms of termites. They will fell the tree in three days, the crack as the trunk snaps in two and falls down into the gorge resonants throughout the Unknown.

Irene  
If she survives, Irene becomes the new burgomaster of the village of Adelaide. She is grateful to the PCs for all they've accomplished and ask them if they wish to stay and help rebuild the Unknown, offering her village as a safe haven.

Fred  
If he survives, Fred (see appendix D) leaves the Unknown to live out the rest of his days in peace. He can, however, be persuaded by the PCs to stay and rebuild the Unknown.

Beatrice  
If she survives, Beatrice asks to accompany the PCs wherever they may go, ready to see the world.

Ensign  
If they survive, Ensign goes to Winter Place and takes up residence its library.

Patty and the Highwayman  
If Patty survives, she goes to Winter Place to expand her arcane knowledge, her ultimate goal being to become the Unknown's new caretaker. If both she and the Highwayman survive, the Highwayman accompanies her. If Ensign is there, the two strike up a rather eccentric friendship.


	18. Chapter 18

Chap 18: Appendix B: Black Turtle House

To run Song of the Beast for 1st-level PCs more safely, you can use this mini-adventure to advance them to 3rd level.  
Before the PCs can explore the Black Turtle cult house, you need to guide them to the village of Adelaide. For the duration of the mini-adventure, any attempt by the PCs to explore other areas in the Beast's domain causes the deadly fog of the Unknown to block their path.

Level advancement  
PCs gain levels by accomplishing goals, rather than by slaying monsters. The milestones are:  
-PCs who gain access to the secret stairs in the attic (area 21) advance to 2nd level. The stairs only appear under certain circumstances.  
-PCs advance to 3rd level upon escaping the house.

History  
The house is an old row house in the village of Adelaide (area E7) that has fallen into the hands of Black Turtle cultists. Locals give the building a wide berth after mistaking cult activity for the presence of a haunting.  
The wealthy family that built the house were high-ranking members of the Black Turtle cult that believes that the Beast is the next inheritor of the Black Turtle's mantle and, thus, the next incarnation of their god. The family hosted their cult meetings and practices here, which led to the rumors of the haunting.  
The cult has tried to summon extraplanars, preyed on visitors, sacrificed visitors, kidnapped lost adventurers to sacrifice, and the like.

Rose and Thorny  
The PCs are pulled into the Unknown by the mists. Forced to follow a lonely road (area A), they eventually arrive at the village of Adelaide (area E).  
Once they reach the village: 'The gravel road leads to a village, many of its tall houses draped with colorful cords of yarn.  
A soft whimpering draws your eye to a pair of children standing in the middle of an otherwise lifeless street.'  
The children are 10-year-old Rose and her 7-year-old brother Thorny. Thorny weeps and clutches a stuffed doll while Rose tries to comfort him.  
If the PCs approach or call out to them: 'After patting and shushing the boy, the girl turns to you and says, "There's a monster in our house." She points to a tall brick row house that has seen better days. The windows are clouded with dirt. It has a gated portico on the ground floor and its rusty gate hangs ajar. The houses on either side are boarded up and draped with brighty colored yarn.'  
PCs who question them learn the following:  
-The children don't know what the monster looks like but have heard it prowling at night.  
-Their parents, Gus and Elsa, keep the monster trapped in the basement.  
-There's a baby (Wally) in the 3rd-floor nursery. (Untrue, but the children believe it.)  
Rose and Thorn won't go back in the house until they know the monster is gone. They can be convinced to wait in the portico (area 1A) while the PCs search the house.

The Mists  
PCs who remain outside the house can see the mists of the Unknown close in around them, swallowing up the rest of the village. As more buildings disappear, the PCs are left with little choice but to seek refuge in the house. The mists stop short of entering but engulf anyone outside the portico (see Chap 2 for effects).

Areas of the House  
The following areas correspond to labels on the ORIGINAL CoS map of the house on pg 216.  
Ceilings vary in height by floor. The first has 10-ft ceilings, the second has 12-ft, the third has 8-ft, and the attic as 13-ft.  
None of the rooms are lit when the PCs arrive, although most areas contain working oil lamps or fireplaces.

1\. Entrance  
A metal gate with hinges on one side and a lock on the other fills the archway of a stone portico (area A1). The gate is unlocked, and its rusty hinges shriek when the gate is opened. Oil lamps hang form the portico ceiling by chains, flanking a set of wooden doors that open into a grand foyer (area 1B). The lamps burn Edelwood oil and give off that same woody, burning fragrance as the fog.  
Hanging on the south wall of the foyer is a shield emblazoned with a coat-of-arms (a black turtle), flanked by framed portraits turned to face the walls. If the portraits are turned around, they are revealed to be black-glass mirrors sacred to the cultists. The black tint is considered the mark of blessing by the Black Turtle which turns the mirrors into plates of its shell, but the glass loses the color if taken from the house. While facing away, the shell of the Black Turtle is supposed to protect those within. The tint is an illusion created by the Beast.  
Double doors lead from the foyer to the main hall (area 2A).

2\. Main hall  
A wide hall (area 2A) runs the width of the house, with a black marble fireplace at one end and a sweeping, black marble staircase at the other. Mounted on the wall above the fireplace is a nonmagical longsword with a black turtle cameo worked into the hilt.  
PCs who search the walls for secret doors or otherwise inspect the paneling can, with a DC 12 Wis (Perception) check, see that the decorative pattern has been carved around (turtle) footprints pyrographed into the wood.  
A cloakroom (area 2B) has several inconspicuous, weather-worn cloaks hanging from hooks on the wall. They belong to the cultists, who are too involved in their ritual to have realized that the children (Rose and Thorny) who they locked in the secret room (see area 9) to keep out of the way have escaped.

3\. Den  
Mounted above the fireplace is a pair of antlers, and positioned around the walls are three stuffed dogs. Although they appear to be real taxidermied animals frozen in mid-attack, they are toys by Mr. Toymaker. On the underside of their paws is stitched the slogan: 'No Fun for You!'  
Two padded chairs face the hearth, with a table between them supporting a candelabrum and pipe rack both made from antlers. An antler chandelier hangs above a cloth-covered table surrounded by four chairs.  
Two cabinets stand against the walls. The east can be picked with thieves's tools and a DC 15 Dex check. It holds a heavy, light, and hand crossbow with 20 bolts for each. The north cabinet is unlocked and holds a small box of tarokka cards and an assortment of pipe tobacco.  
Trapdoor  
A trapdoor is hidden in the southwest corner of the floor. It can't be detected or opened until the PCs approach it from the underside (see area 32). Until then, the Beast's blessing hides the door.

4\. Kitchen and pantry  
The kitchen (area 4A) is tidy, with dishware, cookware, and utensils neatly placed on shelves. Nearly all of the dishware and cookware are black-sap varnished pottery. A worktable has a cutting board and rolling pin atop it. A stone, dome-shaped oven stands near the east wall. Behind the stove and to the left is a thin door leading to a well-stocked pantry (area 4B). All the food in the pantry is overpowered by a curious that the PCs can determine is kelp (gathered from the lakes) with a DC 10 Nature (Int) check.  
Dumbwaiter  
Behind a small door in the southwest corner of the kitchen is a dumbwaiter-a 2-ft-wide stone shaft containing a wooden elevator box attached to a simple rope-and-pulley mechanism that must be operated manually. The shaft connects to areas 7A (servants's quarters) and 12A (the master bedroom). Hanging on the wall next to the dumbwaiter is a tiny brass bell wired to buttons in the other areas.  
A Small PC can squeeze into the elevator box with a successful DC 10 Dex (Acrobatics) check. The dumbwaiter can support 200 lbs before breaking.

5\. Dining room  
The centerpiece is a long table surrounded by 8 high-backed chairs with armrests sculpted like turtle heads and cushioned seats patterned like turtle shells. An antler chandelier hangs above the table. Mounted above the marble fireplace is a framed painting turned with its back to the room. It's another black-glass mirror.  
The wood paneling here is carved with trees and elegantly twining foliage. PCs who inspect the paneling can, with a DC 12 Wis (Perception) check, see faces and body parts carved into the tree trunks.  
Heavy drapes cover the windows, and a tapestry hangs on the south wall. It depicts a cloaked and antlered silhouette flanked by shadowy trees. The figure holds a burning lantern.

6\. Upper hall  
Unlit oil lamps are mounted on the walls. Above the mantelpiece is a wood-framed portrait turned to the wall. It's another black-glass mirror.  
Standing suits of armor flank wooden doors in the east and west walls. Each clutches a spear and has a visored helm shaped like a turtle shell. The doors are carved with dancers, but an inspection with a DC 12 Wis (Perception) check reveals they're actually fighting off swarms of bats.  
The staircase from the first floor continues up to area 11. A cold draft sweeps down the steps.

7\. Servants's room  
An undecorated bedroom (area 7A) contains a pair of bunk beds. At the foot of each is an empty footlocker. Pajamas hang from hooks in the adjoining closet (area 7B).  
Once a servants's room, it now serves as an overflow guest room when rituals run long and cultists can't leave inconspicuously.  
Dumbwaiter  
A dumbwaiter in the corner of the west wall has a button on the wall next to it. Pressing the button rings the tiny bell in area 4A.

8\. Library  
Heavy drapes cover the windows. A desk and chair face the entrance and fireplace, above which hangs a framed painting turned to face the wall. It's a black-glass mirror. In the corners are two overstuffed chairs. Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves line the south wall with a rolling wooden ladder.  
The desk has several items atop it: an oil lamp, inkwell, quill, tinderbox, letter kit, a red wax candle, four blank sheets, and a chop bearing a seal shaped like the shell of a turtle. The desk drawer is empty except for a key, which unlocks the door to area 20.  
The bookshelves hold hundreds of tomes, but all of them are handwritten, indecipherable journals without value. They are the records kept by the cult during their meetings. They are written in a special code known only by the members of the Adelaide chapter of the Black Turtle cult. Cultists can be forced to explain the journals and may recount any kind of ritual activity from human sacrifices to the more mundane process of accounting cultist dues.  
Secret door  
A secret door behind one bookshelf can be unlocked and swung open by pulling a switch disguised to look like a red-covered tome with a blank spine. A PC inspecting the bookshelf spots the fake book with a successful DC 13 Wis (Perception) check. Unless the secret door is propped open, springs in the hinges cause it to close. Beyond lies area 9.

9\. Secret room  
This is a playroom where the cultists lock up Rose and Thorny while in the house. Usually, they push a bookcase in front of the door to keep it closed, but they were too excited for today's ritual to remember.  
The room contains bookshelves packed with illustrated storybooks. After studying the books for 1 hour and succeeding on a DC 12 Int (Arcana) check, PCs can determine that several of the storybooks are handwritten and illustrated, depicting fancified rituals.  
A heavy wooden chest with clawed feet stands against the south wall. Its full of toys, including a set of darts, play armor, and a skeleton puppet with the body of a dog but the head of human. The slogan: 'No Fun for You!' is carved into the back of the skull.

10\. Conservatory  
Gossamer drapes cover the windows. An antler chandelier hangs form teh ceiling. Wicker chairs line the walls, and stained-glass wall hangings depict men, women, and children, singing and praying.  
A harpsichord with a bench rests in the northwest corner. Near the fireplace is a large standing harp. Figurines of dancers carved from antler adorn the mantelpiece. Close inspection reveals that they are faceless and bald with only the carving of a turtle shell on their heads.

Black Turtle House, Upper Levels

11\. Balcony  
PCs who climb the black marble staircase to its full height come to a balcony being prowled by the family watchdog, a giant spider. It attacks as soon as it detects the PCs.  
Oil lamps are mounted on the walls, which are carved with woodland scenes of trees and tiny critters. PCs who search the walls for secret doors or inspect the paneling can, with a DC 12 Wis (Perception) check, notice that the critters are trapped in giant spider webs.  
Secret door  
A secret door in the west wall can be found with a DC 15 Wis (Perception) check. It pushes open to reveal a wooden staircase to the attic.

12\. Master suite  
The double doors have panes of stained glass set into them. The designs resemble abstract black turtles in an aquamarine sea.  
Heavy drapes cover the windows. Furnishings include a four-poster bed with gossamer veils, a matching pair of wardrobes filled with smoke-scented clothes, a vanity with a wood-framed mirror and jewelry box, and a padded chair. A dog-pelt rug lies on the floor in front of the fireplace, which has a portrait facing the wall hanging above it-a black-glass mirror. A parlor in the southwest corner contains a table and chairs. On the table is an empty clay bowl and matching jug.  
A door facing the foot of the bed has a full-length mirror mounted on it. The door opens to reveal a closet (area 12B) choked with the scent of smoke coming from the clothes. The smell of smoke comes from the Edelwood incense that these cultists like to burn.  
A door in the parlor leads to an outside balcony (area 12 C).  
Dumbwaiter  
A dumbwaiter in the corner of the west wall has a button on the wall next to it. Pressing the button rings the bell in 4A.  
Treasure  
The jewelry box is made of silver and contains 3 gold rings and a platinum necklace, altogether worth 850 gp in any settlement's currency item.

13\. Bathroom  
This dark room contains a wooden tub with clawed feet, a small stove with a kettle resting atop it, and a barrel under a spigot in th eeast wall. A roof cistern collects rainwater which runs down to the spigot through piping. The water comes out slightly red from the rusty pipes.

14\. Storage room  
Shelves line the walls covered in sheets, blankets, towels, and bars of tallowy soap. A broom of animated attack (see appendix D) leans against the far wall. It attacks any creature within 5 ft.

15\. Nursemaid's suite  
Giant spiderwebs shroud an elegant bedroom (area 15A) and adjoining nursery (area 15B). Double doors pull open to reveal a balcony (area 15C) overlooking the front of the house.  
The bedroom belongs to the giant spiders that the cultists use as their watchdogs. There is a giant spider in the bedroom that attacks on sight. It also contains a large bed, two end tables, and a spiderweb-filled wardrobe. Mounted on the wall next to the wardrobe is a mirror. PCs who search for doors or inspect the mirror can, with a DC 15 Wis (Perception) check, notice a secret door in the wall behind the mirror.  
The nursery contains a cribe covered with shrouds of spiderweb. If the PCs pull away the shrouds, they find a baby-sized bundle of web-wrapped giant spider eggs on which Rose and Thorny have painted a smiley face. The children have painted the crib to read: 'Wally.'  
Secret door  
It pushes open easily to reveal a wooden staircase to the attic.

16\. Attic hall  
This bare hall is choked with giant spiderwebs.  
Locked door  
The door to area 20 is held shut with a padlock. Its key is kept in the library (area 8), but it can be picked with thieves's tools and a successful DC 15 Dex check.

17\. Spare bedroom  
This room contains a triple bunk bed, a night stand, a stove, writing desk with a stool, a wardrobe full of pajamas, and a rocking chair. It's used for cultists who've stayed over too long to go home inconspicuously.

18\. Storage room  
This chamber is packed with old furniture (chairs, coat racks, empty picture frames, dress mannequins) draped in giant spiderwebs. Near a stove underneath a spiderweb is an unlocked wooden trunk.  
PCs who disturb the trunk are attacked by the giant spider inside.  
Secret door  
A secret door in the east wall appears only when certain conditions are met; see area 21.

19\. Spare bedroom  
This room contains a triple bunk bed, a night stand, a stove, writing desk with a stool, a wardrobe full of pajamas, and a rocking chair. It's used for cultists who've stayed over too long to go home inconspicuously.

20\. Children's room  
The door is locked from the outside because the children don't want their parents's visitors going through their things. They have a copy of the key but won't give it up to the PCs because they don't want the PCs going through their things either.  
Text: 'Two wood-framed children's beds flank a narrow window. Close to the door is a toy chest painted to resemble a turtle shell and a dollhouse that's a perfect replica of the house itself.'  
The toy chest contains an assortment of finely made stuffed animals and toys that are worth 25 gp each in any settlement's currency item.  
PCs who search the dollhouse and succeed on a DC 15 Wis (Perception) check find all the house's secret doors, including one in the attic that leads to a spiral staircase (see area 21).  
If either the dollhouse or chest is disturbed, two watchdog phase spiders phase into the room. They attack any creature that they detect but will not leave the room. If the PCs flee, the phase spiders phase out after an hour.

21\. Secret stairs  
A narrow spiral staircase made of creaky wood is contained in a 5-ft-wide shaft of mortared stone that starts in the attic and descends 50 ft, passing through the lower levels of the house. Thick cobwebs fill the shaft and reduce visibility to 5 ft.  
The secret door and shaft can't be found unless the PCs find the replica of the secret door in the dollhouse (area 20).  
The PCs can automatically find it afterward. PCs who descend the stairs end up in area 22.

Black Turtle House, Dungeon

Features  
The dungeon is carved from earth, clay, and rock. The tunnels are 4 ft wide by 7 ft high with timber braces every 5 ft. Rooms are 8 ft tall and supported by thick wooden posts with crossbeams. The only exception is area 38, which has a 16-ft-high ceiling supported by stone pillars. PCs without darkvision must provide their own light, as it unlit except for areas occupied by cultists.

22\. Dungeon level access  
The wooden spiral staircase from the attic ends here. A narrow tunnel stretches southward before branching east and west.  
The PCs can hear an eerie, incessant chant echoing throughout. It's impossible to gauge where the sound is coming from until the PCs reach area 26 or 29.

23\. Family vaults  
Several vaults have been hewn from the earth. Each is sealed with a stone slab. Removing a slab requires a DC 15 Str (Athletics) check. Using a crowbar or the like grants advantage.  
23A. Empty vault  
The family has yet to fill this with their valuables.  
23B. Spider vault  
Contains one ring of Animal Influence. Gus and Elsa have the others.  
23C. Gus's vault  
Contains one Wand of Web. Gus holds another.  
23D. Elsa's vault  
Contains one Potion of Animal Friendship.  
23E. Rose's vault  
Is empty save for a swarm of insects (centipedes) that have nested here and boils out if disturbed.

23F. Thorny's vault  
Is empty save for a doll identical to the one which he carries. It's worth 25 gp in any settlement's currency item.

24\. Cult initiates's quarters  
A wooden table and four chairs stand at the east end of this room. To the west are four alcoves containing immaculately made-up cots.

25\. Cult initiates's study room  
A 4-diameter well shaft with a 3-ft-high stone lip descends 30 ft to a water-filled cistern. A wooden bucket hangs from a rope-and-pulley mechanism bolted to the crossbeams above the well.  
Five side rooms serve as private study rooms for the initiates. Each contains a desk, stool, and wooden chest of items of study. Each chest is secured with a padlock that can be picked with thieves's tools and a DC 15 Dex check.  
Treasure  
25A. A pouch made of a person's skin. This person was a black-turtle eater, sacrificed.  
25B. Three black turtle eggs preserved in black-sap amber of the Edelwood trees.  
25C. A black leather eyepatch tanned to resemble a turtle shell.  
25D. An antler-handled hairbrush varnished in black sap.  
25E. The taxidermied body of a giant spider.

26\. Hidden spiked pit  
The chanting gets louder as one heads west along this tunnel. A DC 15 Wis (Perception) check reveals an absence of footprints. PCs search the floor for traps find a 5-ft-long, 10-ft-deep pit hidden under rotted wooden planks beneath a thin layer of dirt. The pit has sharpened wooden spikes at the bottom. The first PC to step on the cover falls through, landing prone and taking 3 (1d6) bludgeoning damage from the fall and 11 (2d10) piercing damage from the spikes.

27\. Dining hall  
This room contains a plain wooden table flanked by long benches. The floor is paved with the bones (humanoid and other) of the creatures that have been sacrificed and eaten here.  
In the middle of the south wall is a darkened alcove (area 28). PCs who approach within 5 ft provoke the creature there.

28\. Larder  
This alcove contains a phase spider who phases in to attack the first PC within 5 ft. Any PC with a passive Wis (Perception) under 12 is surprised. The phase spider is only a holy food guardian, however, and won't pursue the PCs if they flee but does try to drive them off.

29\. Cultist encounter  
Four cult spies (LE, any race) arrive from two of the four tunnels at this four-way tunnel intersection. The increased volume of the chanting from the north muffles their passage. They fight the PCs to the death if they detect them.

30\. Stairs down  
The chants originate from somewhere below this 20-ft-long staircase. PCs who descend and follow the hall arrive in area 35.

31\. Shrine  
Text: 'This room is festooned with skeletons that hang from tapestry rods agains the walls. A wide alcove in the south contains a wooden statue varnished with black sap in the crude likeness of an antlered humanoid wearing the shell of a turtle.  
The room has exits in the west and north walls. Chanting can be heard from the west.'  
The statue depicts the silhouette of the Beast, whom the cultists believe is the next incarnation of the Black Turtle. If the PCs touch the statue, five shadows form around it and attack them. The shadows do not pursue any who flee.  
Concealed door  
PCs searching the room for secret doors find a concealed door in the middle of the east wall with a DC 10 Wis (Perception) check. Its an ordinary wooden door hidden under a layer of clay. It pulls open to reveal a stone staircase that climbs 10 ft to a landing (area 32).

32\. Hidden trapdoor  
The staircase ends at a landing with a 6-ft-high ceiling of close-fitting planks with a wooden trapdoor set into it. The trapdoor is bulted shut from this side and can be pushed open to reveal the den (area 3) above.  
Once found and opened, it remains available to the PCs.

33\. Cult leader's den  
The door in the southwest corner is a mimic in disguise. Any creature that touches the door becomes adhered to the creature, and the mimic attacks. The mimic also attacks if it takes any damage.  
A chandelier of antlers with candles homemade from the fat of sacrifices is suspended above a table in the middle of the room. Two high-backed chairs flank the table, which has an empty clay jug and two clay flagons atop it.

34\. Cult leaders's quarters  
This room contains a large wood-framed bed with a feather mattress, a wardrobe containing cult robes, and an open create containing 30 torches and a leather sack with 15 candles homemade from the fat of sacrifices. At the foot of the bed is an unlocked wooden footlocker containing some gear and magic items (see Treasure, below). It's unlocked because the cultists keep a giant spider and phase spider here to guard the chest. The giant spider pops out of it while the phase spider phases into the room. They attack any who open it.  
Treasure  
PCs searching the footlocker find a folded cloak of protection, 4 potions of healing, a chain shirt, a mess kit, a flask of alchemist's fire, a bullseye lantern, a set of thieves's tools, and a spellbook containing:  
1st level: disguise self, identify, mage armor, magic missile, protection from evil and good  
2nd level: darkvision, hold person, invisibility, and magic weapon  
These items were taken from the cults's victims, usually those unsuspecting who were drawn into the Unknown by the mists.

35\. Reliquary  
The chanting fills this room with its echoes. PCs can discern a dozen or so voices saying, over and over, "He is the Next. He wears the Mantle." The cult amassed several relics used in its rituals. The items are worthless to all but other Black Turtle cultists. They're store in 13 niches along the walls:  
-A small, mummified, yellow hand with sharp claws on a loop of rope  
-A knife carved from a humanoid bone  
-A dagger with a rat's skull set into the pommel  
-An 8-inch-diameter varnished orb made from a humanoid eye  
-An aspergillum carved from antler  
-A folded cloak made from stitched skin  
-A desiccated frog lashed to a stick (could be mistaken for a wand of polymorph)  
-A bag full of Business Bat guano  
-A Frogfolk's severed, webbed finger  
-A 6-in-tall wooden figurine of a cloaked and antlered figure varnished with black sap  
-A metal pendant patterned after a turtle shell  
-The shrunken, shriveled head of a halfling  
-A small wooden coffer containing a dire dog's withered tongue  
The southernmost tunnel slopes down at a 20-degree angle into murky water and ends at a rusty portcullis (area 37).

36\. Prison  
The cultists shackle their prisoners to the back walls of alcoves here for torture or holding while they prepare the rituals.  
Secret door  
A secret door in the south wall can be found with a DC 15 Wis (Perception) check and pulls open to reveal area 38.

37\. Portcullis  
This tunnel is blocked by a rusty portcullis that can be lifted with a DC 20 Str (Athletics) check. Otherwise, it can be raised or lowered by turning a wooden wheel half-embedded in the east wall of area 38. (The wheel is beyond the reach of someone east of the portcullis.) The floor is submerged under 2 ft of murky water.

38\. Ritual chamber  
The chanting originates here.  
Text: 'The chanting stops as you peer into this 40-ft-sq room. Stone pillars with trains of turtles carved in relief support the ceiling. A breach in the west wall leads to a dark cave heaped with refuse. Murky water obscures the floor. Stairs lead up to dry stone ledges that hug the walls. In the middle of the room, more stairs rise to form a turtle-shaped dais that rises above the water. Chains with shackles dangle from the ceiling above a stone altar mounted on the dais. The pattern carved into the altar resembles the plates of a turtle shell.'  
The water is 2 feet deep. The ledges and central dais are 5 ft high (3 feet higher than the water's surface), and the ceiling is 16 ft high (11 ft above the dais and ledges.) The chains dangling are 8 ft long.  
Half-embedded in the east wall is a wooden wheel connected to hidden chains and pulleys. A PC can use an action to turn the wheel, raising or lowering the portcullis in area 37.  
The hole in the west wall leads to a naturally formed alcove that the cultists have been using as a dump to accelerate the decay of bodies and remove them as fast as possible with as little suspicion as possible.  
Eight cultists and four cult fanatics (two of whom are Gus and Elsa) stand on the ledges overlooking the room. Each holds a torch but their faces are hooded. If the PCs enter the room, they chant: 'One must die!' over and over. The PCs can ascertain what to do with a DC 11 Int (Religion) or Wis (Insight) check. A creature must die on the altar, a sacrifice for the Black Turtle. The cultists don't care what creature is sacrificed and aren't fooled by illusions. If the PCs make the sacrifice, the cultists ignore them, descending to dance around the altar with their chant: "He is Next! He wears the Mantle!"  
If the PCs leave without a sacrifice or attack, the cultists call on the creature that lives in the alcove to attack, the shambling mound dubbed the Decayer with the chant: "Decay the defilers! Decay! Decay!" It can be detected while slumbering in the refuse heap with a DC 15 Int (Nature) check. The Decayer pursues the PCs through the dungeon but won't leave the dungeon. If the Decayer is slain, the cultists flee (including Gus and Elsa).


	19. Chapter 19

Chap 19: Appendix C: Treasures

Scattered throughout the Unknown are ancient treasures that can be brought to bear against the Beast and his servants. The locations of three of them-the Song of Edelwood, the All-seeing Monocle, and the Claw Hand Maw-are determined by the results of your card reading (see Chap 1). The others can be acquired through discovery.

Song of Edelwood  
The Song of Edelwood is an ancient work penned by the Caretaker, a song that hasn't been sung since the creation of the Beast. It's been preserved by the same fey magic of the Caretaker's that has allowed the Elder Edelwood to continue to live and grow. The death of the Beast ends the preservation magic, causing the ancient work to crumble to dust.  
A character can spend an action to sing a verse from the Song. While singing, any attack by the Beast against this character is made at disadvantage as the Beast listens to these familiar but long-forgotten words. But the Beast also attempts to take back the Song, making the singer his preferred target.

Magic Items  
The items described here, if found, can play significant roles in the adventure.

Blood Spear of Kevin  
Weapon (spear), uncommon (requires attunement)  
Kevin was a druid chieftain of a tribe of Unknown barbarians who lived in the Barking Mountains in the time of the Caretaker. He was an elite hunter who drank the blood of his prey to symbolize adding their strength and life force to his, and wielded a spear stained with their blood in remembrance. His was the first blood spear, a weapon that drains life from those it kills and transfers that life to its wielder.  
When you hit with a melee attack using the spear and reduce a target to 0 hp, you gain 2d6 temporary hp.

Blight Staff  
Staff, rare (requires attunement)  
This staff is a spongy, black length of wood. Its 30 ft evil aura makes beasts visibly uncomfortable. The staff has 10 charges and regains 1d6+4 of its expended charges daily at dusk.  
If the staff is broken or burned to ashes, its wood releases a terrible, inhuman scream that can be heard to a range of 300 ft. All blights that hear the scream immediately wither and die.  
Leech Life. The staff can be wielded as a magic quarterstaff. On a hit, it deals damage as a normal quarterstaff. You can expend 1 charge to regain a number of hp equal to the damge dealt. Each time a charge is spent, black sap oozes from the staff's pores, and you must succeed a DC 12 Wis saving throw or be afflicted with short-term madness (see Chap 8 of the DM's Guide).  
Blight Bane. While you're attuned to the staff, blights and other evil plants don't regard you as hostile unless you harm them.

All-Seeing Monocle  
Wondrous item, legendary (requires attunement by a PC of good alignment)  
The All-Seeing Monocle was crafted by the witch Tabitha, the ancient enemy of the Beast and the only one to escape him. She gave her life to bind the magical part of her soul to her creation in the hopes that someone would be able to use it to destroy the Beast as she had failed to do.  
The monocle appears like any other but its frame and chain are platinum. It has 10 charges and regains 1d6+4 daily at dawn.  
Hold Mist. As an action, you can expend 1 charge and present the monocle to make it flare with power. The Beast and any of his fog-addled, fog-touched, or mist-possessed servants within 30 ft must make a DC 15 Wis saving throw. On a failed save, the target is paralyzed for 1 minute. It can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns until it ends the effect.  
Turn Mist. You can expend 3 charges when you present the monocle to give the Beast or fogged servants disadvantage on their saving throws to the effect.  
Clear Mist. As an action, you can expend 5 charges while presenting the monocle to make it shed bright light in a 30-ft radius and dim light for an additonal 30-ft. The light is sunlight and lasts for 10 minutes or until you end the effect (no action). It drives off the mist in its radius and suppresses the song of the Beast so that any entering Edelwood Slumber can have their hope restored by the PCs with a DC 15 Cha (Persuasion) check.

Holy Symbol of Turtlekind  
Wondrous item, legendary (requires attunement by someone who has never eaten a turtle)  
This 12-inch-tall statuette depicts a black turtle. It belongs to the Black Turtle cultists who've been invited to take up residence in the Elder Edelwood.  
Turtle-Eater-Killer. Any creature that has eaten a turtle that touches the statuette must make a DC 17 Con saving throw, taking 88 (16d10) radiant damage on a failed save or half as much on a successful one. It is left to the DM whether the Beast or others have eaten turtle, but members of the Black Turtle cult have never done so. But once a creature has been so-attacked, they are forever immune to this effect. Whether the Beast has been subject to this effect previously and is now immune is also left to the DM.  
Augury. You can use an action to cast augury from the symbol, with no material components required. Once used, this property can't be used again until the next dawn. The Beast may intercept all auguries within the Unknown and knows of all of them.  
Cure Wounds. While holding the symbol, you cna take an action to heal one creature that you can see within 30 ft of you. The target regains 3d8+3 hp unless it is undead, a construct, or a fiend. Once used, this property can't be used again until the next dawn.

Mark's Thighbone  
Weapon (mace), rare  
Mark's thighbone is an enchanted acid weapon dealing damage as Melf's Acid Arrow. If it scores one or more hits in the course of a single battle, the thighbone crumbles to dust once the battle is over.  
Mark was the Beast's first doorman and trap operator with a penchant for acid and poison. His idiosyncracy was to imbibe acids and poisons at low doses and gradually increase the doses to inure himself to them. Doing so imbued his body with toxins that dissolved all but his thighbone.

Claw-Hand Maw  
Weapon (gauntlet, martial), legendary  
The Claw-Hand Maw is a Dark metal gauntlet, 1d8 Bludgeoning or Piercing damage, 5 lbs, Versatile, +4 to Sunder, +4 to Grapple. It was created by Granny Lee at the same time that she created the Dark lantern for the Beast as insurance in case he ever turned against her. It is the only weapon capable of sundering the Dark lantern and cannot itself be sundered except by another weapon of Dark metal.  
The Beast can only be permanently killed if the Dark lantern is destroyed. Otherwise, he will reform within his hole in the Elder Edelwood and return to terrorize the Unknown once more. If the Beast reduced to 0 hp while the Dark lantern is intact, the fog of the Unknown will remain in place, indicating that the Beast is still at large and keeping the PCs trapped within the Unknown.


	20. Chapter 20

Chap 20: Appendix D: Monsters and NPCs, Part 1

New Creatures by CR  
CR Creature  
11 Granny Lee  
11 Granny Lee's hut  
1/4 Broom of animated attack  
1/2 Black Turtle cult witch  
8 Beatrice  
1 Guardian portrait  
5 Hot-Hand Zeb  
10 Ms. Evangeline  
1/4 Pumpkin-Eater  
1/4 Ticktock  
10 Steward the Beast's Steward  
5 Fred the Fey  
15 The Beast  
7 Tree blight  
2 Feathered Friend

Animated Objects  
Animated objects are crafted with potent magic to follow the commands of their creators. When not commanded, they follow the last order received to the best of their ability. Some objects might converse or adopt a persona, but most are simple automatons.  
Constructed nature  
An animated object doesn't require air, food, drink, or sleep. The magic that animates an object is dispelled when the construct drops to 0 hp. It becomes inanimate and is too damaged to be of value.

Granny Lee's Hut  
Gargantuan construct, unaligned  
AC 16 (natural)  
HP 263 (17d20+85)  
Speed 30 ft  
STR 26 (+8)  
DEX 7 (-2)  
CON 20 (+5)  
INT 1 (-5)  
WIS 3 (-4)  
CHA 3 (-4)  
Saving Throws Con +9, Wis +0, Cha +0  
Damage Immunities poison, psychic  
Condition Immunities blinded, charmed, deafened, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, prone  
Senses blindsight 120 ft (blind beyond radius), passive Perception 6  
CR 11 (7200 XP)  
Antimagic Susceptibility. The hut is incapacitated if in the area of an antimagic field. If targeted by dispel magic, the hut must succeed on a Con saving throw against the caster's spell save DC or become inanimate for 1 min.  
Siege Monster. The hut deals double damage to objects and structures.  
Actions  
Granny Lee. If Granny Lee is killed, the hut ceases to function.  
Multiattack. The hut makes 3 attacks with its legs. It can replace one with a rock attack (kicks the rock).  
Leg. Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 60 ft, one target.  
Hit: 30 (4d10+8) bludgeoning.  
Rock. Ranged Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, range 120 ft, one target.  
Hit: 21 (3d8+8) bludgeoning.

Broom of Animated Attack  
Small construct, unaligned  
AC 15 (natural)  
HP 17 (5d6)  
Speed 0 ft, fly 50 ft (hover)  
STR 10 (+0)  
DEX 17 (+3)  
CON 10 (+0)  
INT 1 (-5)  
WIS 5 (-3)  
CHA 1 (-5)  
Damage Immunities poison, psychic  
Condition Immunities blinded, charmed, deafened, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone  
Senses blindsight 30 ft (blind beyond radius), passive Perception 7  
CR 1/4 (50 XP)  
Flying. Behaves like a broom of flying but can only carry half the weight (see Chap 7 of the DM's Guide).  
Antimagic Susceptibility. The broom is incapacitated if in the area of an antimagic field. If targeted by dispel magic, the broom must succeed on a Con saving throw against the caster's spell save DC or become inanimate for 1 min.  
False Appearance. While the broom remains motionless and isn't flying, it appears to be a normal broom.  
Actions  
Multiattack. The broom makes 2 melee attacks.  
Broomstick. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft, one target.  
Hit: 5 (1d4+3) bludgeoning.  
Reactions  
Animated Attack. If the broom is motionless and a creature grabs hold of it, the broom makes a Dex check contested by a Str check. If the broom wins, it flies out of the creature's grasp and makes a melee attack with advantage on the attack roll.

Guardian Portrait  
Medium construct, unaligned  
AC 5 (natural armor)  
HP 22 (5d8)  
Speed 0 ft  
STR 1 (-5)  
DEX 1 (-5)  
CON 10 (+0)  
INT 14 (+2)  
WIS 10 (+0)  
CHA 10 (+0)  
Damage Immunities poison  
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained  
Senses darkvision 60 ft, passive Perception 10  
Languages Common, up to 2 others  
CR 1 (200 XP)  
Antimagic Susceptibility. The portrait is incapacitated if in the area of an antimagic field. If targeted by dispel magic, the portrait must succeed on a Con saving throw against the caster's spell save DC or become inanimate for 1 min.  
False Appearance. While the figure in the portrait remains motionless, it appears to be a normal painting. The figures must move to cast spells.  
Living Image. The eyes of the figure are imbued with darkvision and follow creatures in front of them.  
Innate Spellcasting. The portrait's spellcasting ability is Int (spell save DC 12). The portrait can cast the following without material components:  
3/day each: counterspell, crown of madness, hypnotic pattern telekinesis

Granny Lee  
Medium humanoid (fey, shapechanger), CE  
AC 15 (natural)  
HP 120 (16d8+48)  
Speed 30 ft  
STR 18 (+4)  
DEX 10 (+0)  
CON 16 (+3)  
INT 20 (+5)  
WIS 17 (+3)  
CHA 13 (=1)  
Saving Throws Wis +7  
Skills Arcana +13, Religion +13, Intimidate +4  
Damage Reduction 10/cold iron  
Condition Immunities charmed, frightened  
Vulnerability Iron +1d6 damage  
Senses passive Perception 13, low-light 60 ft, darkvision 60 ft  
Languages Abyssal, Common, Draconic, Dwarvish, Giant  
CR 11 (7200 XP)  
Shapechanger. Granny Lee can use an action to polymorph into a swarm of insects (flies), or back. While in swarm form, she has a walking speed of 5 ft and a fly speed of 30 ft. Anything she is wearing transforms but nothing she carries.  
Fey mind. Granny Lee is shield against divination magic, as though protected by a nondection spell.  
Spellcasting. Granny Lee is a 16th-level caster. Her spellcasting ability is Int (spell save DC 17, +9 to hit with spells). She has the following preprared:  
Cantrips (at will): acid splash, fire bolt, light, mage hand, prestidigitation  
1st (4 slots): detect magic, magic missile, sleep, witch bolt  
2nd (3 slots): crown of madness, enlarge/reduce, misty step  
3rd (3 slots): dispel magic, fireball, lightning bolt  
4th (3 slots): blight, Evard's black tentacles, polymorph  
5th (2 slots): cloudkill, geas, scrying  
6th (1 slot): programmed illusion, true seeing  
7th (1 slot): finger of death, mirage arcane  
8th (1 slot): power word sun  
Actions  
Multiattack. Granny Lee makes 3 attacks with her quarterstaff.  
Quarterstaff. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft, one target.  
Hit: 7 (1d6+4) bludgeoning, or 8 (1d8+4) bludgeoning if wielded with 2 hands.  
Summon Swarm of Insects (Recharges after any Rest). Granny Lee summons 1d4 swarms of insects (flies). A swarm appears in an unoccupied space within 60 ft of Granny Lee and acts as her ally. It remains until it dies or she dismisses it as an action.

Black Turtle Cult Witch  
Medium humanoid (any race), CE  
AC 10  
HP 16 (3d8+3)  
Speed 30 ft  
STR 7 (-2)  
DEX 11 (+0)  
CON 13 (+1)  
INT 14 (+2)  
WIS 11 (+0)  
CHA 12 (+1)  
Skills Arcana +4, Perception +2  
Senses passive Perception 12, darkvision 60 ft  
Languages Common  
CR 1/2 (100 XP)  
Find Familiar. The witch uses this spell to call forth familiars.  
Spellcasting. The witch is a 3rd-level caster. Their spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 12, +4 to hit with spell attacks). The witch has the following spells prepared:  
Cantrips (at-will): mage hand, prestidigitation, ray of frost  
1st level (4 slots): ray of sickness, sleep, Tasha's hideous laughter  
2nd level (2 slots): alter self, invisibility  
Actions  
Claws (Requires Alter Self). Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft, one target.  
Hit: 4 (1d6+1) slashing. This attack is magical.  
Dagger. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 5 ft, or range 20/60 ft, one target.  
Hit: 2 (1d4) piercing.

Tree Blight  
AC 15 (natural)  
HP 149 (13d12+65)  
Speed 30 ft  
STR 23 (+6)  
DEX 10 (+0)  
CON 20 (+5)  
INT 6 (-2)  
WIS 10 (+0)  
CHA 3 (-4)  
Condition Immunities blinded, deafened  
Senses passive Perception 10, blindsight 60 ft (blind beyond radius)  
Languages understands Common and Druidic but doesn't speak  
CR 7 (2900 XP)  
False Appearance. While the blight remains motionles, it is indistinguishable from a tree.  
Siege Monster. The blight deals double damage to objects and structures.  
Actions  
Multiattack. The blight makes 4 attacks: 2 with its branches and 2 with its grasping roots. If it has a target grappled, the blight can also make a slam attack against the target as a bonus action.  
Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft, one target.  
Hit: 19 (3d8+6) bludgeoning.  
Branch. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 15 ft, one target.  
Hit: 16 (3d6+6) bludgeoning.  
Grasping Root. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 15 ft, one target grappled.  
Hit: The target is grappled (escape DC 15). Until the grapple ends, the target takes 9 (1d6+6) bludgeoning damage at the start of each of its turns. The root has AC 15 and can be severed by 6 slashing damage or more. Cutting the root doesn't hurt the blight but ends the grapple.

Beatrice  
Small humanoid (Fungai), CG  
AC 17 (+1 studded leather armor)  
HP 82 (11d8+33)  
Speed 20 ft  
STR 14 (+2)  
DEX 19 (+4)  
CON 16 (+3)  
INT 16 (+3)  
WIS 11 (+0)  
CHA 17 (+3)  
Saving Throws Wis +3  
Skills Acrobatics +7, Arcana +6, Deception +9, Insight +3, Medicine +3, Perception +6, Performance +6, Sleight of Hand +7, Survival +6  
Senses passive Perception 16, superior darkvision 120 ft  
Languages Common, Gnome, Deep Speech  
CR 8 (3900 XP)  
Beatrice's Secret. She lost her right leg below the knee to a bear trap and a pack of dire dogs. She now wear's a false appendage but keeps it hidden from view because she's ashamed of having fallen prey to something as 'obvious' as a bear trap.  
Tarokka Deck. Beatrice keeps a deck of cards with her, gifted by Ms. Evangeline. They aren't magic but can be used to perform the card reading in Chap 1.  
Special Equipment. In addition to magic armor and weapons, Beatrice also has 2 potions of greater healing.  
Spellcasting. Beatrice is a 7th-level spellcaster. Her spellcasting ability is Int (spell save DC 14, +6 to hit with spell attacks). She has the following spells prepared:  
Cantrips (at will): fire bolt, light, mage hand, prestidigitation  
1st (4 slots): protection from evil and good, magic missile, shield  
2nd (3 slots): darkvision, knock, mirror image  
3rd (3 slots): clairvoyance, lightning bolt, magic circle  
4th (1 slot): greater invisibility  
Fungai Heritage. See Chap 1 for the racial abilities available to Fungai.  
Actions  
Multiattack. Beatrice makes 3 attacks: 2 with her +1 rapier and one with her +1 handaxe or cold iron shortsword.  
+1 Rapier. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft, one target.  
Hit: 9 (1d8+5) piercing.  
+1 Handaxe. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft, or range 20/60 ft, one target.  
Hit: 6 (1d6+3) slashing.  
Cold Iron Shortsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft, one target.  
Hit: 7 (1d6+4) piercing damage.

Hot-Hand Zeb  
Medium humanoid (any race), NE  
AC 14 (studded leather armor)  
HP 112 (15d8+45)  
Speed 30 ft  
STR 18 (+4)  
DEX 15 (+2)  
CON 16 (+3)  
INT 10 (+0)  
WIS 9 (-1)  
CHA 15 (+2)  
Skills Intimidation +8, Perception +2  
Senses passive Perception 12  
Languages Common  
CR 5 (1800 XP)  
Brute. A melee weapon deals one extra die of damage when Zeb hits with it (included in the attack).  
Actions  
Multiattack. Zeb makes 2 attacks with his battleaxe.  
Battleaxe. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft, one target.  
Hit: 13 (2d8+4) slashing, or 15 (2d10+4) when used with 2 hands.  
Hurl Flame. Ranged Spell Attack. +5 to hit, range 60 ft, one target.  
Hit: 10 (3d6) fire damage. If the target is a flammable object, it catches fire.

The Highwayman  
Use the mage stat block in the Monster Manual with the following adjustments:  
-Alignment neutral  
-Darkvision 60 ft  
-Fey Ancestry  
-The Highwayman wears a ring of warmth and carries a spellbook (see Chap 6, area N9a for a list of spells it holds in addition to his prepared spells).

Ms. Evangeline  
Small humanoid (Fungai), CN  
AC 10  
HP 88 (16d8+16)  
Speed 20 ft  
STR 8 (-1)  
DEX 11 (+0)  
CON 12 (+1)  
INT 17 (+3)  
WIS 20 (+5)  
CHA 18 (+4)  
Saving Throws Con +5  
Skills Arcana +7, Deception +8, Insight +13, Intimidation +8, Perception +9, Religion +7  
Senses passive Perception 19  
Languages Abyssal, Common, Infernal, Gnome, Deep Speech  
CR 10 (5900 XP)  
Fungai Heritage. See Chap 1 for the racial abilities available to Fungai.  
Spellcasting. Ms. Evangeline is a 16th-level caster. Her spellcasting ability is Wis (spell save DC 17, +9 to hit with spell attacks). She has the following spells prepared:  
Cantrips (at-will): light, mending, sacred flame, thaumaturgy  
1st level (4 slots): bane, command, detect evil and good, protection from evil and good  
2nd level (3 slots): lesser restoration, protection from poison, spiritual weapon  
3rd level (3 slots): create food and water, speak with dead, spirit guardians  
4th level (3 slots): divination, freedom of movement, guardian of faith  
5th level (2 slots): greater restoration, raise dead  
6th level (1 slot): find the path, harm, true seeing  
7th level (1 slot): fire storm, regenerate  
8th level (1 slot): earthquake  
Actions  
Dagger. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft, one target.  
Hit: 2 (1d4) piercing.

Pumpkin-Eater  
Medium humanoid (Pumpkin-Eater), any alignment  
AC 11 (natural)  
HP 26 (4d8+8)  
Speed 30 ft.  
STR 12 (+1)  
DEX 9 (-1)  
CON 15 (+2)  
INT 9 (-1)  
WIS 10 (+0)  
CHA 6 (-2)  
Skills Deception +2, Perception +2, Stealth +3  
Senses passive Perception 12  
Languages Common  
CR 1/4 (50 XP)  
Camouflage Experts. A Pumpkin-Eater is covered with dirt, leaves, and twigs. Until seen, a Pumpkin-Eater has advantage on Stealth checks made to hide outdoors.  
Mimicry. Can mimic any sounds it has heard, including voices. A DC 12 Wis (Insight) check allows a creature to tell they are imitations.  
Extraordinary Feature. The Pumpkin-Folk has one of the following related to their animal head:  
Amphibious. Can breathe air and water.  
Darkvision. 60 ft.  
Flight. Leathery wings and a fly speed of 40 ft.  
Keen Hearing and Smell. Advantage on Wis (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or seeing.  
Spider Climb. Can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make a check.  
Standing Leap. Long jump 20 ft, high jump 10 ft, with or without a running start.  
Actions  
Multiattack. The Pumpkin-Eater makes 2 attacks: 1 with a bite and 1 with its claw or dagger.  
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft, one target.  
Hit: 3 (1d4+1) piercing.  
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft, one target.  
Hit: 3 (1d4+1) slashing.  
Dagger. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft, or range 20/60 ft, one target.  
Hit: 3 (1d4+1) piercing.

Ticktock  
Small construct, unaligned  
AC 14 (natural)  
HP 10 (3d6)  
Speed 30 ft  
STR 10 (+0)  
DEX 14 (+2)  
CON 11 (+0)  
INT 8 (-1)  
WIS 13 (+1)  
CHA 10 (+0)  
Skills Performance +2  
Damage Immunities poison  
Condition Immunities paralyzed, petrified, poisoned  
Senses passive Perception 11  
Languages understands Common but doesn't speak and can't read or write  
CR 1/4 (50 XP)  
Ambusher. During the 1st round of combat, Ticktock has advantage on attack rolls against any creature that hasn't had a turn yet.  
Actions  
Club. Melee Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 5 ft, one target.  
Hit: 2 (1d4) bludgeoning.  
Dart. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 20/60 ft, one target.  
Hit: 4 (1d4+2) piercing.

Steward, the Beast's Steward  
Medium construct, LE  
AC 18 (natural)  
HP 135 (18d8+54)  
Speed 35 ft  
STR 14 (+2)  
DEX 22 (+6)  
CON 17 (+3)  
INT 15 (+2)  
WIS 16 (+3)  
CHA 18 (+4)  
Saving Throws Con +7, Wis +7  
Skills Deception +8, Insight +7, Intimidation +12, Perception +11, Stealth +14  
Damage Immunities poison  
Condition Immunities paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, charmed, sleep  
Senses passive Perception 21, darkvision 60 ft  
Languages Common, Elvish, Sylvan, Gnomish, Deep Speech  
CR 10 (5900 XP)  
Radio Waves. Any creature within 10 ft of Steward that isn't protected by a mind blank spell hears the screaming static of the radio waves created by the magicked gears that keep Steward functioning. As a bonus action Steward can force all creatures that hear the staticky shrieks to make a DC 16 Wis save. Each creature takes 16 (3d10) psychic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.  
Radio Blank. Steward can use his radio waves to disrupt mental processes, allowing Steward to hide even when only lightly obscured.  
Magic Mimicry. Steward can approximate the following spells as supernatural abilities with Int as the casting ability. No material components are required:  
3/day: magic weapon, nondetection  
Actions  
Multiattack. Steward attacks 3 times with a scimitar or twice with poisoned darts.  
Scimitar. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft, one target.  
Hit: 9 (1d6+6) slashing.  
Poisoned Dart. Ranged Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, ranged 20/60 ft, one target.  
Hit: 8 (1d4+6) piercing plus 5(2d4) poison damage.

Fred the Fey  
Medium humanoid (fey), LG  
AC 12 (leather)  
HP 77 (14d8+14)  
Speed 30 ft  
STR 9 (-1)  
DEX 12 (+1)  
CON 13 (+1)  
INT 16 (+3)  
WIS 18 (+4)  
CHA 16 (+3)  
Saving Throws Con +4, Wis +7  
Skills Arcana +9, Insight +7, Medicine +7, Perception +7, Religion +6, Sleight of Hand +4  
Senses passive Perception 17, darkvision 60 ft  
Languages Abyssal, Common, Elvish, Infernal  
CR 5 (1800 XP)  
Fey Ancestry. Fred has advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can't put him to sleep.  
Special Equipment. In addition to his sword cane, Fred wears a hat of disguise and a ring of mind shielding, and he carries a spell scroll of raise dead.  
Spellcasting. Fred is a 9th-level caster. His spellcasting ability is Wis (spell save DC 15, +7 to hit with spell attacks). Fred has the following spells prepared:  
Cantrips (at-will): guidance, light, mending, thaumaturgy  
1st (4 slots): cure wounds, detect evil and good, protection from evil and good, sanctuary  
2nd (3 slots): augury, lesser restoration, protection from poison  
3rd (3 slots): magic circle, remove curse, speak with dead  
4th (3 slots): death ward, freedom of movement  
5th (1 slot): dispel evil and good  
Actions  
Multiattack. Fred makes 2 attacks with his sword cane.  
Sword Cane. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft, one target.  
Hit: 4 (1d6+1) bludgeoning (wooden cane) or piercing (sword).

The Beast  
Tactics  
-The Beast attacks at the most advantageous moment and from the most advantageous position.  
-The Beast knows when he's in over his head. If he takes more damage than he can regenerate, he moves beyond the reach of melee combatants and spellcasters, or he flies away (using minions to guard his retreat).  
-The Beast observes the PCs to see who among them are most malleable, then tries to charm those with low Wis scores and use them as thralls. At the very least, he can order a charmed character to guard him against other members of the adventuring party.

Minions  
Whenever the Beast appears in a location other than his hold or place indicated by the card reading, roll a d20 and consult the table to determine what creatures he brings with him:  
The Beast's Minions  
d20 Creatures  
1-3 1d4+2 dire dogs  
4-6 1d6+3 fog-touched fey  
7-9 1d4+2 the Beast's fog-touched fey  
10-12 2d4 swarms of Business Bats  
13-15 1d4+1 fog-addled centaurs  
16-18 3d6 dogs  
19-20 None  
If the PCs are in a residence, the minions break through doors and windows to reach them or swoop down the chimney.

Heart of Fungi  
Any damage that the Beast takes is transferred to the Heart of Fungi (see Chap 4, area K20). If the heart absorbs damage that reduces it to 0 hp, it is destroyed, and the Beast takes any leftover damage. The heart has 50 fp and is restored to that number of hp each dawn, provided 1 hp remains. The Beast can, as a bonus action, break his link to the heart as a bonus action on his turn, but only while in the Elder Edelwood. The Beast can reestablish the link under the same conditions.  
The ability of the heart is suppressed if it or the Beast is fully within an antimagic field.

Lair Actions  
While the Beast is in the Elder Edelwood, he can take lair actions as long as he isn't incapacitated.  
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the Beast can take one of the following or forego using any of them in that round:  
-Until initiative count 20 of the next round, the Beast can pass through solid walls, doors, ceilings, and floors as if they weren't there.  
-The Beast targets any number of doors and windows in sight, causing each one to either open or close as he wishes. Closed doors can be magically locked (needing a successful DC 20 Str check to force open) until the Beast chooses to end the effect, or until the Beast uses this lair action again.  
-The Beast calls out to one of his groups of minions who arrive in 1d3 rounds.

The Beast  
Medium fey (shapechanger), LE  
AC 16 (natural)  
HP 144 (17d8+68)  
Speed 30 ft  
STR 18 (+4)  
DEX 18 (+4)  
CON 18 (+4)  
INT 20 (+5)  
WIS 15 (+2)  
CHA 18 (+4)  
Saving Throws Dex +9, Wis +7, Cha +9  
Skills Arcana +15, Perception +12, Religion +10, Stealth +14  
Damage Reistances acid, bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks  
Damage Reduction 15/cold iron  
Condition Immunities charm, sleep  
Senses passive Perception 22, darkvision 120 ft  
Languages Abyssal, Common, Draconic, Elvish, Giant, Infernal, Sylvan, Gnome, Deep Speech  
CR 15 (13000 XP)  
Iron Vulnerability (Ex): The mere touch of iron (including steel) deals point of damage to the Beast. A hit with an iron or steel weapon deals an additional +1d6 points of damage.  
Shapechanger. The Beast can use his action to polymorph into a Tiny Business Bat, a Medium dire dog, or a Medium cloud of mist, or back into his true form.  
In bat or dog form, the Beast can't speak. In bat form, his walking speed is 5 ft, and he has a fly speed of 30 ft. In dog form, his walking speed is 40 ft. His stats, other than size and speed, are unchanged. Anything he's wearing transforms with him, but nothing he's carrying does. He reverts to his true form if he dies.  
In mist form, the Beast can't take any actions, speak, or manipulate objects. He is weightless, has a fly speed of 20, can hover, enter a hostile creature's space, and stop there. If air can pass through a space, so can the mist, but he can't pass through liquids. He has advantage of Str, Dex, and Con saves, and is immune to all nonmagical damage.  
Legendary Resistance (3/day). If the Beast fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.  
Misty Escape. When the Beast drops to 0 hp outside his hole, he transforms into a cloud of mist instead of alling unconscious. If he can't transform, he's destroyed.  
While he has 0 hp in mist form, he can't revert to his fey form, and he must reach his hole in 2 hours or be destroyed. Once in his hole, he reverts to his fey form. He's paralyzed until he regains at least 1 hp. After 1 hour in his hole with 0 hp, he regains 1 hp.  
Regeneration. The Beast regains 20 hp at the start of his turn if he has at least 1 hp. If he takes damage from cold iron, this trait doesn't function at the start of his next turn.  
Spellcasting. The Beast is a 9th-level caster. His spellcasting ability is Int (spell save DC 18, +10 to hit with spell attacks). He has the following spells prepared:  
Cantrips (at will): mage hand, prestidigitaion, ray of frost  
1st level (4 slots): comprehend languages, fog cloud, sleep  
2nd level (3 slots): detect thoughts, gust of wind, mirror image  
3rd level (3 slots): animate dead, fireball, nondetection  
4th level (3 slots): blight, greater invisibility, polymorph  
5th level (1 slot): animate objects, scrying  
Spider Climb. The Beast can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without an ability check.  
Fire Weakness. When hit by fire, the Beast takes 20 extra flame damage.  
Actions  
Multiattack (Fey Form Only). The Beast makes two attacks.  
Unarmed Strike (Fey Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft, one target.  
Hit: 8 (1d8+4) bludgeoning plus 14 (4d6) acid damage. If the target is a creature, the Beast can grapple (escape DC 18) instead of dealing the bludgeoning.  
Song (Fey Form Only). Psychic Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft, one creature grappled, incapacitated, restrained, or willing.  
Hit: 7 (1d6+4) sonic plus 10 (3d6) psychic damage. The Beast regains hp equal to the amount of psychic damage dealt. The target's hp max is reduced by an amount equal to the psychic damage, which lasts until a long rest. If a target's max hp is reduced to 0 from the song, they fall into Edelwood Slumber.  
Charm. The Beast targets 1 humanoid he can see in 30 ft. If the target can see the Beast, it must succeed on a DC 17 Wis save or be charmed. The charmed target regards the Beast as a trusted friend to be heeded and protected. The target isn't under the Beast's control, but it takes the Beast's requests and actions in the most favorable way and willingly listens to the Beast's song.  
Each time the Beast or his minions do anything harmful to the target, it can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on a success. Otherwise, the effect lasts 24 hours or until the Beast is destroyed.  
Legendary Actions  
The Beast can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. The Beast regains spent legendary actions at the start of his turn.  
Move. The Beast moves up to his speed without provoking opportunity attacks.  
Unarmed Strike. The Beast makes one unarmed strike.  
Song (costs 2 Actions). The Beast sings his song to one target.

Feathered Friend (not the perma-bird)  
Medium humanoid (shapechanger), LG  
AC 12 (natural)  
HP 31 (7d8)  
Speed 30 ft (fly 50 ft in bird form)  
STR 10 (+0)  
DEX 15 (+2)  
CON 11 (+0)  
INT 13 (+1)  
WIS 15 (+2)  
CHA 14 (+2)  
Skills Insight +4, Perception +6  
Senses passive Perception 16  
Languages Common (can't speak as a bird)  
CR 2 (450 XP)  
Shapechanger. The Feathered Friend can use its action to polymorph into a bird or back. Its stats, other than size, are the same in each form. Any equipment it's wearing is transformed but nothing carried.  
Mimcry. The Feathered Friend can mimic simple sounds it has heard. A creature that hears the sounds can tell they are imitations with a successful DC 10 Wis (Insight) check.  
Actions  
Multiattack (Humanoid Only). The Feathered Friend makes 2 weapon attacks, one of which can be with its hand crossbow.  
Beak (Bird Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft, one target.  
Hit: 1 piercing.  
Shortsword (Humanoid Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft, one target.  
Hit: 5 (1d6+2) piercing.  
Hand Crossbow (Humanoid Only). Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 30/120 ft, one target.  
Hit: 5 (1d6+2) piercing.


	21. Chapter 21

Chap 21: Appendix F: Handouts

The Beast's Invitation  
Text: 'My friends,  
Know that it is I who have brought you to this land, my home, and know that I am the only one who can release you from it. I bid you dine at my treehouse so that we can meet in civilized surroundings. Your passage here will be a safe one. I await your arrival with bated breath.  
Yours truly,  
The Caretaker.'

Burgomaster Kole's Letter  
Text: 'Hail to thee mighty, valorous one,  
I, the Burgomaster of Adelaide, send you honor-with despair.  
My adopted daughter, Irene, has been these past nights tormented by the Song, that of the Beast. For over four hundred years, this creature has drained the heart and hope of my people. Now, my dear Irene languishes and dies from his song as well.  
So I beg of you, gather your strength, enough that you might smite this devil and never shall he rise again. Save us, for we in despair cannot save ourselves.  
Your humble servant,  
Burgomaster Kole.'


End file.
